The Wall Street Journal-20080205-Ruling for American Express Affirmed in Slogan Case

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Ruling for American Express Affirmed in Slogan Case

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NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a lower court's 2006 ruling in favor of American Express Co. in a dispute with a corporate consultant over its "My Life. My Card." advertising campaign.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in February 2006 that Stephen Goetz had "no valid protectable trademark rights" senior to American Express regarding his purported mark, "My Life, My Card."

Mr. Goetz had claimed that he submitted a business proposal to several credit-card companies, including American Express, in summer 2004 that would use proprietary software to allow credit-card customers to personalize their cards with a photograph printed on each card's face. The proposal included the slogan, "My Life, My Card."

"According to Goetz, he believed that the phrase My Life, My Card would 'perfectly embody what card consumers sought.' Yet, for the obvious reason that Goetz did not sell credit cards, he never displayed the slogan to card consumers," the three-judge panel wrote. "Instead, he offered the slogan as a complement to the card personalization concept and software he proposed to sell and, in this respect, his claim is no better than that of an advertising agency that offers its clients a marketing concept to enhance their sales."

Mr. Goetz had claimed that even though he didn't use "My Life, My Card" as a trademark, his activities were analogous to trademark use. The appeals court disagreed.

A lawyer for Mr. Goetz didn't return a phone call seeking comment late yesterday.

"We are aware of the decision and are obviously pleased with the outcome," said Joanna Lambert, an American Express spokeswoman.