Two insurance-related companies claim the name “AIG.” A.I.G Agency is a family-owned insurance broker in Missouri, and claims to have begun calling itself “AIG” around 1958. AIG International is a behemoth insurance company incorporated in 1967. The insurer first used the “AIG” mark sometime between 1968 and 1970, and obtained a federal trademark registration for “AIG” in 1981, which is still active.
A.I.G Agency sued the insurer in 2017 over its use of “AIG.” It alleged common-law trademark infringement and unfair competition along with violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1125. The district court agreed with the insurer that A.I.G Agency’s claims were barred by the doctrine of laches, so it granted summary judgment in favor of AIG and dismissed the agency’s claims. On appeal, the agency argued the district court erred in granting summary judgment because it weighed disputed facts in the insurer’s favor.
The Fifth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court’s grant of summary judgment in plaintiff’s lawsuit for trademark infringement over the insurer’s use of the “AIG” trademark. The court held that plaintiff’s claims were barred by the doctrine of laches. The court reasoned that the district court abused its discretion by not applying for progressive encroachment and did not announce any test on which it relied for determining when a likelihood of confusion arose. It also did not meaningfully analyze the strength of the insurer’s mark at the relevant times, whether A.I.G Agency intended to confuse the public, the degree of care expected of potential customers, or the evidence of actual confusion.
A trial is slated to proceed in front of a jury in January.