Facts

Plaintiff Raul Caiz filed suit against William Roberts aka Mastermind aka Rick Ross in relation to the trademark term "Mastermind".

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff alleged defendant infringed on plaintiff's registered trademark, Mastermind. Plaintiff contended that he applied for registration of the mark Mastermind with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, plaintiff alleged that he has used the name Mastermind in the music industry since 1999 and defendants have willfully infringed on plaintiff's registered trademark rights by releasing an album entitled Mastermind, titling Roberts' tour Mastermind and by Roberts taking on the persona of Mastermind.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant asserted a first amendment defense and contended non-infringement.

Result

The court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant. The court found for defense, who applied the First Amendment Rogers defense, determining that plaintiff failed to offer any evidence demonstrating that defendant's use of the mark had no artistic relevance to the underlying work, and consequently, failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact.

Other Information

Plaintiff has appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.