Horseshoe Bay Resort Sales Co., Appellant v. Lake Lyndon B. Johnson Improvement Corporation, Appellee, 53 S.W.3d 799

Summary

An area was known by the name of a certain ranch. In 1971, the developer chose and registered the name "Horseshoe Bay" for its development and business there. In 1986, it registered its mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Horseshoe Bay received its own post office. In 1996, defendant company registered the domain name "horseshoebay.com" and began using that internet address. Both parties used the internet for business. On average, the developer spent over $ 200,000 per year advertising under its name. It sued and won. The appellate court held that any geographic significance of the mark was due directly to the building and promotion efforts of the developer. As the developer arbitrarily chose the name from a list of 10 ideas and it was not in prior use there, it was not "geographically descriptive" for infringement law purposes. Confusion was likely because the parties provided similar services. Internal correspondence showed the company intended to benefit from ...