Only Active Live English US Web Addresses Need Be Disclosed To US Merck, By German Merck -- For Now -- In Lanham Act Name Spat

Onward marches the fight over how each of these two life science and pharma titans may employ the trademark "Merck" globally.

But it does so, in teeny, tiny "baby steps" -- the latest being a (for now) limited disclosure of which "live" registered domains and web addresses -- aimed at the US markets, and written in English, that the German Merck controls, since 2008. US Merck had asked for a wider universe of disclosures -- but the able Magistrate Judge in New Jersey's federal District Courts curtailed that request, in an order issued just this morning:

. . . .IT IS ON THIS 9th day of June 2017. . . ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ request that the Court require Defendant to produce domain names or web addresses for all of Defendant’s websites available to Internet users within the United States, other than websites accessible only before 2006 and websites entirely in another language, is denied without prejudice; and it is further. . .

ORDERED that Defendant is not required to produce: (1) domain names for websites that contain a non-U.S. ccTLD; (2) domain names that do not resolve to any websites; or (3) domain names the sole function of which is to redirect users to another domain name. . . .

Onward. Awaiting word, as above. With hope. [Two more states have begun the quite sensible, and well-founded, process of suing to enforce the federal Constitutional emoluments clause prohibitions today, against 45 -- so I may smile, at that -- just as our below masthead foresaw.]

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