Intellectual Property

Humorous Letter Responds To Woman Challenging Trademark In State She Doesn't Even Operate In

This challenge doesn't bode well.

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Obviously every case looks its worst when viewed through the lens of one side’s letter, but if half of what this letter says about this dispute is true, this is an absurd challenge.

Financial Moxie is a financial advisory catering to working moms. Or at least I think it is… the website also lists multiple fitness instructors on staff so I don’t know what that’s all about. The “moxie” term aligns with the phenomenon of “Moxie Tribes” which seem to be groups for working moms to talk about how awesome they are. It’s basically Goop with fewer vagina candles. Meanwhile “Southtown Moxie” is a law firm in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Those are… not the same. I wonder if this woman is also suing the soft drink company founded in 1876 for infringement too?

After receiving a cease and desist letter demanding that Southtown Moxie withdraw its trademark application, Kevin Christoper of Rockridge Venture Law (Southtown Moxie’s sibling firm) sat down with a beer to pen a response. You may remember Rockridge Venture from when they were fighting over poop perfumes. It’s fair to say the firm enjoys the fine art of the cease and desist exchange and probably did cartwheels upon getting a demand letter that they could clown this ferociously.

I’m not sure why the letter needed Intellectual Property Barbie visual aides, but here we are.

What is the theoretical threat of this new mark? Honestly it’s not clear:

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But I wouldn’t be drinking a Purple Haze in my skivvies if I didn’t point out the irony that your client has hired you to represent her BECAUSE SHE IS NOT LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW. Based on your letter, she claims that our mark, limited to the provision of legal services, infringes upon her financial advisory, personal coaching, and tribal businesses and causes her great harm. Basically she thinks someone looking for “Moxie Tribe” fellowship is going to get sucked up into our vortex of intellectual property services.

So she’s worried about a perhaps archaic but nonetheless fairly common word in the English language being used in an industry she’s not in — though if financial planners have fitness instructor services maybe she’s expanding? — in a state she explicitly doesn’t serve. Oh, did I not mention that part:

Your client has this interesting disclaimer on her sites:

This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the states of AZ, CA, CO, IL, IN, MI, NH, PA, TX. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident outside the specific states
referenced.

So… not in Tennessee or North Carolina where Southtown Moxie operates. I’m beginning to think writing this cease and desist letter in the first place required a whole lot of… you know.

Chutzpah.

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(Full letter on the next page as per usual.)

Earlier: Cease & Desist Letter About Literal Poop Is The Entertainment We All Need Right Now

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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