Urban Dictionary Definition Inadmissible in Trademark Case


In Keep You, LLC v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, LP (S.D.N.Y.), plaintiff is claiming that defendant’s use of the phrase “Keep True Keep You” infringes plaintiff’s trademark “Keep You,” and the defendant is arguing (amongst different issues) that “the City Dictionary definition of ‘Keep You” is powerful proof that the phrase is in frequent utilization and due to this fact additionally diminishes the power of Plaintiff’s mark.” However Choose Kimba Wooden concluded Friday that the definition was inadmissible:

There may be little Second Circuit case regulation concerning the admissibility of City Dictionary definitions. The place courts have referenced City Dictionary, they’ve sometimes finished so solely in passing to elucidate unfamiliar slang phrases or frequent phrases….

[T]he definitions ought to be excluded [in this case] underneath Rule 403 as a consequence of their lack of probative worth. Urbandictionary.com is a crowdsourced on-line dictionary that permits customers to anonymously publish their very own definitions. The web site offers few content material pointers for customers. Content material Pointers, URBAN DICTIONARY (instructing customers to “be artistic [and] have enjoyable”). When a consumer submits a definition, it goes by a perfunctory overview course of earlier than it’s printed on-line. A single phrase can have tons of of definitions submitted by numerous customers through the years. Because of the continuously increasing nature of the web site, City Dictionary explicitly states that it “doesn’t and can’t overview all Content material printed to the Web site or created by customers accessing the Web site[.]”

For these causes, the City Dictionary definitions upon which Plaintiff depends are unreliable. Their probative worth is considerably outweighed by the hazard of (1) complicated the problems (i.e., the jury could incorrectly assume the definitions of “Keep You” or “Keep True” are at problem), (2) deceptive the jury in regards to the power of Plaintiff’s mark or Defendant’s truthful use protection, or (3) losing time….