Company Overview of Breitling USA Inc.

The Ninth Circuit has reversed a lower court's dismissal of a suit by Solid 21 Inc., accusing Breitling USA Inc. of infringing on Chris Aire's Red Gold(R) trademark. The case, filed by Solid 21 Inc. on behalf of Chris Aire Fine Jewelry and Timepieces, is one of 15 cases Chris Aire had filed in January 2011 to protect the company's Red Gold(R) mark. In the lawsuits, Chris Aire accused Breitling, Swatch, Bulgari, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and several other watch brands of using the Red Gold(R) mark despite the fact that his company has held a trademark registration certificate for Red Gold since 2003. The Patent and Trademark office had also deemed the trademark incontestable as far back as 2007. Since obtaining his trademark, Chris Aire has expended millions of dollars to brand the mark and create demand for it in the marketplace via tastemakers and other celebrities. In ruling for Chris Aire, the Ninth Circuit held that U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fess had erred in ruling that the Red Gold(R) mark was generic and not protectable: Solid 21's federal registration of its trademark constitutes prima facie evidence of the mark's validity.