Opinion
21-55553
03-16-2022
BETTY'S FOUNDATION FOR THE ELIMINATION OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TRINITY CHRISTIAN CENTER OF SANTA ANA, INC., and TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC., Defendants-Appellees.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
Argued and Submitted March 8, 2022 Pasadena, California
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Cormac J. Carney, District Judge, Presiding D.C. No. 8:20-cv-02146-CJC-ADS
Before: FRIEDLAND and KOH, Circuit Judges, and KORMAN, [**] District Judge.
MEMORANDUM [*]
Betty's Foundation for the Elimination of Alzheimer's Disease ("Betty's Foundation") appeals the district court's dismissal of Betty's Foundation's Lanham Act and state law claims against Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, Inc. and Trinity Broadcasting Network, Inc. (collectively, "Trinity"). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we review de novo the district court's order of dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Brown v. Elec. Arts, Inc., 724 F.3d 1235, 1240 (9th Cir. 2013).
We apply the test in Rogers v. Grimaldi, 875 F.2d 994 (2d Cir. 1989), to a plaintiff's Lanham Act claims when a defendant makes "a threshold legal showing that its allegedly infringing use [of a trademark] is part of an expressive work protected by the First Amendment." Gordon v. Drape Creative, Inc., 909 F.3d 257, 264 (9th Cir. 2018). Contrary to Betty's Foundation's arguments, the Rogers test applies to the instant case because Trinity's alleged use of the mark is in the title of an expressive work, Trinity's television show, and related promotional materials. See Twentieth Century Fox Television v. Empire Distrib., Inc., 875 F.3d 1192, 1196 (9th Cir. 2017).
Because Betty's Foundation does not challenge the district court's ruling that the Rogers test applies to state law claims, we "have no occasion to address whether the Rogers test applies to any state laws." Twentieth Century Fox Television v. Empire Distrib., Inc., 875 F.3d 1192, 1196 n.1 (9th Cir. 2017).
Because Trinity has met its threshold legal showing, Betty's Foundation has the burden to show that it satisfies at least one prong of the Rogers test to have a viable Lanham Act claim. See Gordon, 909 F.3d at 264-265 (explaining burden framework). "Under the Rogers test, the trademark owner does not have an actionable Lanham Act claim unless the use of the trademark is 'either (1) not artistically relevant to the underlying work or (2) explicitly misleads consumers as to the source or content of the work.' Neither of these prongs is easy to meet." Dr. Seuss Enters., L.P. v. ComicMix LLC, 983 F.3d 443, 462 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting VIP Prods. LLC v. Jack Daniel's Props., Inc., 953 F.3d 1170, 1174 (9th Cir. 2020)).
Betty's Foundation advances no argument that it satisfies the first Rogers prong. Nor does Betty's Foundation satisfy the second Rogers prong, because the operative complaint contains no factual allegations that Trinity made "an explicit indication," "overt claim," or "explicit misstatement" about the source of the television show. See id.
Our decision in Gordon does not compel a contrary result because the facts of the instant case do not test the "outer limits" of Rogers. See Gordon, 909 F.3d at 268. Unlike in Gordon, Betty's Foundation and Trinity use the mark in different contexts, and Trinity added a substantial amount of artistic expression to its television series beyond the mark. See id. at 269-71 (listing two additional factors to consider under the second Rogers prong). Moreover, consumers do not expect titles of expressive works to identify "the origin of the work." Id. at 270. Thus, considering "all the relevant facts and circumstances," Trinity's alleged use of Betty's Foundation's trademark is not explicitly misleading under the second Rogers prong. See ComicMix, 983 F.3d at 463 (quoting Gordon, 909 F.3d at 269).
Accordingly, the district court correctly dismissed Betty's Foundation's Lanham Act and state law claims.
AFFIRMED.
[*] This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
[**] The Honorable Edward R. Korman, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation.