Oprah Wins Dismissal of Trademark Lawsuit

Oprah artfully sidestepped a  trademark lawsuit when a New Jersey district court held that she made fair use of “Own Your Own Power” on the cover of her magazine when she used the phrase as a headline and a title for an area of her website. The use of the descriptive phrase in conjunction with her well-known trademarks was fair use and did not infringe the plaintiff’s “Own Your Own Power” mark, registered for “a personal brand of self-awareness and motivational communications services nationally.” Because the court declined the invitation to exercise jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s state law claims, Oprah carried the day on all issues.