Company that sued Apple over the ‘Memoji’ trademark appeals a district court decision

Social Technologies, a company that sued Apple over allegedly infringing its “Memoji” trademark has appealed a district court decision that sided with the tech giant, reports AppleInsider.

Memoji is the name used for Apple’s personalized “Animoji” characters that can be created and customized right within Messages by choosing from a set of inclusive and diverse characteristics to form a unique personality. 

In a 2018 complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Social Technologies claimed Apple’s Memoji mark infringes on a similar trademark — “MEMOJI” — currently in use by Social Technologies, which makes Android apps. According to the suit, Social Tech filed an intent-to-use application for the MEMOJI mark in April 2016, but before registration was obtained, Apple made a play for its version of the name. 

Apple filed a motion for summary judgement to “avoid punishment.” The court granted the motion in December 2019 on a conclusion that “no reasonable jury could find that Social Tech used the “MEMOJI” mark ‘in commerce.'”

Now, AppleInsider says that, in an appeal filed on Aug. 24 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Social Tech claims that the lower court erred in its judgement.