Trademark/Unfair Competition:
Walter v. Mattel, Inc., 210 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2000)
Plaintiff Walter sued Mattel for misappropriation of her trade name, Pearl Beach, when Mattel released the Pearl Beach Barbie. Walters was clearly the senior user of the name in her commercial illustration business. Walter claims there was a likelihood of consumer confusion that consumers would believe her services and the Mattel products were associated. The Court held Ms. Walters was unable to show a likelihood of reverse confusion between her business and Barbie because the products were not complementary, were not sold to the same class of purchasers, and were not similar in function.