The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the strength of a trademark in a likelihood-of-confusion analysis under 15 U.S.C. § 1114 is a question of law for the court or a question of fact for the jury. RiseandShine Corp. v. PepsiCo, Inc., Case No. 24-1016 (Supr. Ct. June 29, 2026).
RiseandShine sued PepsiCo in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that PepsiCo’s Mtn Dew Rise Energy drink infringed RiseandShine’s RISE marks for cold-brew coffee products. The district court granted RiseandShine a preliminary injunction, but the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded.
The Second Circuit concluded that the district court erred in its analysis of the strength of the RISE marks and the similarity of the parties’ marks. Treating trademark strength as a question of law, the Second Circuit found that the RISE marks were weak because of the “strong logical associations between ‘Rise’ and coffee.” After reviewing images of the parties’ cans, the Second Circuit also concluded that the district court erred in finding PepsiCo’s mark confusingly similar to the RISE marks.
On remand, the district court entered summary judgment for PepsiCo, relying on the Second Circuit’s determination that the RISE marks were “inherently weak as a matter of law” and that the similarity factor “weigh[ed] strongly against” RiseandShine. The Second Circuit affirmed, reiterating that trademark strength is a question of law.
RiseandShine petitioned for certiorari, which the Supreme Court granted. The question presented is: Whether trademark strength is a question of fact in a likelihood-of-confusion analysis under 15 U.S.C. § 1114.
