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15 F. 236

La Croix v. May

New York Southern District Court

Decided January, 1883.)

New York Southern District Court · decided 1883-01

<p>1. Teade-Maeks—Rights of Aliens—Property in, as Affected by Acts of Congress.</p> <p>The fact that one is an alien does not afEeet his right of property in a trademark ; but that fact is a necessary allegation to establish the requisite diversity of citizenship to confer jurisdiction upon a federal court. The acts of congress fortify the common-law right to a trade-mark by conferring a statutory title upon the owner, but “property in trade-marks does not derive its existence from an act of congress.” 100 U. S. 82. By the express terms of section 10 of the present act of congress the common-law right in trade-marks is preserved • intact.</p> <p>2. Same—Demurrer.</p> <p>Where the demurrer was to the whole hill, and the bill was in itself sufficient, aside from the allegations contained in it, upon which the demurrer was taken, the demurrer was overruled.</p>

2 counsel of record

Relies on United States v. Steffens · Burton v. Stratton

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1883-01

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently August 1910

1 federal appellate ·

201883189019001910decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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¶11. Teade-Maeks—Rights of Aliens—Property in, as Affected by Acts of Congress.

¶2The fact that one is an alien does not afEeet his right of property in a trademark ; but that fact is a necessary allegation to establish the requisite diversity of citizenship to confer jurisdiction upon a federal court. The acts of congress fortify the common-law right to a trade-mark by conferring a statutory title upon the owner, but “property in trade-marks does not derive its existence from an act of congress.” 100 U. S. 82. By the express terms of section 10 of the present act of congress the common-law right in trade-marks is preserved • intact.

¶32. Same—Demurrer.

¶4Where the demurrer was to the whole hill, and the bill was in itself sufficient, aside from the allegations contained in it, upon which the demurrer was taken, the demurrer was overruled.

¶5S. W. Weiss, for complainant.

¶6Briesen é Betts, for defendants. >

¶7Wallace, J.

¶8The facts alleged in the complainant’s bill entitle .him to an injunction restraining defendants from the use of his trade*237mark, irrespective of tlie lights which he acquired by the registration of his trade-mark under the act of congress of March 3, 1881. Taylor v. Carpenter, 3 Story, 458; 2 Wood. & M. 1; Taylor v. Carpenter, 11 Paige, 296. The fact that complainant is an alien does not affect his right of property in a trade-mark; but that fact, as it establishes the requisite diversity of citizenship between the parties to confer jurisdiction upon this court, is indispensable to the cause of action alleged.

¶9The act of congress fortifies the common-law light to a trade-mark by conferring a statutory title upon the owner; but, as was said of a former act, (The Trade-mark Cases, 100 U. S. 82,) “property in trademarks does not derive its existence from an act of congress.” The present act does not abridge or qualify the common-law right, but, by the express term of section 10, preserves it intact.

¶10The theory of the demurrer is that the complainant’s statutory title upon the allegations of the bill is invalid. It is not necessary to decide the questions raised, because, as the demurrer is to the whole bill, the bill is sufficient if all the allegations concerning a registration of the trade-mark were eliminated.

¶11• Demurrer is overruled.

¶12See Barton v. Stratton, 12 Fed. Rep. 696, and note, 704, and Shaw Stocking Co. v. Mack, Id. 707, and note, 717

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