This month, we discuss Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport v. Spirits Int’l B.V.F., in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit sought to clarify the extent to which the doctrines of comity and act of state preclude a U.S. court from determining whether the actions of a foreign sovereign validly confer standing for the purposes of a claim under section 32(1) of the Lanham Act.1
The dispute arose out of rival claims to exploit the American trademarks related to Stolichnaya vodka. At issue was whether Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport (FTE), an agency of the Russian Federation, was an “assign” of the Russian Federation within the meaning of the Lanham Act such that it had standing to bring claims under section 32(1). The District Court had inquired whether as a matter of Russian law the purported assignment of its rights in the trademarks to FTE was valid and, concluding it was not, dismissed FTE’s claim for lack of standing.
