After the Settlement: Portions of Blue Nile’s and James Allen’s
“BUILD YOUR OWN RING” and “Design Your Own” Web pages
On May 8, Western District Judge Thomas Zilly dismissed Blue Nile, Inc.’s lawsuit against competing online jeweler James Allen Diamonds, Inc. and JamesAllen.com LLC based on the parties’ stipulation. The complaint had alleged that defendants’ use of BUILD YOUR OWN RING as a trademark infringed Blue Nile’s prior common law rights in the same mark. Defendants had denied Blue Nile’s allegations and asserted in counterclaims for declaratory judgment that their use of the words did not infringe Blue Nile’s trademark rights and that BUILD YOUR OWN RING was invalid because it did not function as a protectable trademark.
The terms of the settlement are not known to STL, but it appears that defendants have changed their alleged use of “Build Your Own Ring” to “Design Your Own” and “Design Your Own Ring” on their Web site. Plaintiff continues to use BUILD YOUR OWN RING on its Web site.
The case cite is Blue Nile, Inc. v. James Allen Diamonds, Inc., No. 07-1443 (W.D. Wash.) (Zilly, J.).