SAN DIEGO–A court has ruled that a trademark violation lawsuit between two credit unions can continue.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California said the lawsuit filed by San Diego County Credit Union alleging Peoria, Ill.-based Citizens Equity First Credit Union committed fraud before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has merit and can proceed.
San Diego County Credit Union owns more than 40 trademark registrations related to its services, including the mark “It’s Not Big Bank Banking. It’s Better.”... In a lawsuit filed in May of 2017, SDDCU alleged CEFCU filed a petition with the Patent Office stating it wanted SDCCU’s trademark cancelled, as it is too close to CEFCU’s slogan, “CEFCU. Not a bank. Better.” CEFCU said the similarity causes confusion.
San Diego County Credit Union filed suit arguing CEFCU’s actions pose a threat to the credit union and further stating it was unaware of any confusion among consumers when it comes to the two credit unions. SDCCU also argued that many credit unions use similar slogans that seek to create differentiation with banks.
While it is based in Illinois, CEFCU entered the Northern California market in 2008 following a merger.
The $6-billion CEFCU has approximately 337,000 members. The $8.1-billion San Diego County CU has approximately 400,000 members.
A copy of the complaint can be found here.