Buzas Baseball V. Board Of Regents

Buzas Baseball, Inc. v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia 10th Circuit Court of Appeals 189 F.3d 477(10th Cir. 1999) Key Search Terms: jurisdiction, “first-to-file” trademark infringement, baseball, declaratory judgment, abuse of discretion Facts Buzas Baseball operates a minor league Triple A baseball team, the Salt Lake Buzz. They have used their name and a bee logo since 1993. The Georgia Institute of Technology uses a Yellow Jacket named “Buzz” as its mascot. The university obtained a trademark of the Yellow Jacket design in 1987 and registered “Buzz” in 1988. Buzas commenced this action after deciding that it would not discontinue use of the “Buzz”. Three weeks later, the university filed a trademark infringement action in Georgia federal district court. The district court granted the university’s motion to dismiss. Issue On appeal the issue is whether the district court erred in determining that Buzas was not entitled to application of the first-to-file rule and whether the district court erred in declining to exercise jurisdiction over this action. Holding The Tenth Circuit reviewed the district court’s decision to dismiss the declaratory judgment action using the abuse of discretion standard. The court noted that a district court may decline to follow the first-to-file rule and dismiss a declaratory judgment action if that action was filed for the purpose of anticipating a trial on the same issues in a court of co-ordinate jurisdiction. Affirmed. Summarized By: Laura Brackey