United Drug Co. v. Theodore Rectanus Co., 248 U.S. 90 (1918) (No. 27)

Case name: United Drug Co. v. Theodore Rectanus Co. Opinion filed: 1918-12-09 Docket No.: 27 Citations: • 248 U.S. 90 • 39 S. Ct. 48 • 63 L. Ed. 141 • 1918 U.S. LEXIS 1694 Case holding summaries: • trademark right "has little or no analogy" to copyright or patent • "the right to a particular mark grows out of its use, not its mere adoption" • finding that the prior use of a trademark in a remote geographic area does not justify the cancellation of the registered mark of a second user who acquired trademark rights in good faith • “in good faith, and without notice of any prior use by others, selected and used the ‘Rex’ mark” • “in perfect good faith; neither side having any knowledge or notice of what was being done by the other” • establishing that "the right to a particular mark grows out of its use, not its mere adoption" • clarifying that a trademark is not a right in gross or at large, but is confined to territories of use • "The law of trademarks is but a part of the broader law of unfair competition; the right to a particular mark grows out of its use, not its mere adoption" • "There is no such thing as property in a trade-mark except as a right appurtenant to an established business or trade in connection with which the mark is employed." • "There is no such thing as property in a trade-mark except as a right appurtenant to an established business or trade in connection with which the mark is employed." • “There is no such thing as property in a trade- mark except as a right appurtenant to an established business or trade in connection with which the mark is employed.” • noting “little or no analogy” between trademark rights and those of patent or copyright • noting “little or no analogy” between trademark rights and those of patent or copyright • A trademark's "function is simply to designate the goods as the product of a particular trader and to protect his good will against the sale of another's product as his." • “[T]he general rule is that, as between co