CAFC Dismisses Bid to Cancel New Orleans Saints’ Fleur-de-Lis Mark

Image taken from court documents

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Monday dismissed an appeal brought by a private citizen against the New Orleans Louisiana Saints, LLC football team due to lack of standing.

In 2023, Michael Messier filed a petition to cancel the Saints’ service mark, “a stylized fleur-de-lis symbol for use in connection with ‘entertainment services in the form of professional football games and exhibitions’” first issued in 1974. Messier claimed that he is a “‘direct descendant of the Kings of France (Scotland, Aragon, and Castille)’ and that he and his family own ‘intellectual property rights to the Fleur de Lys, Orleans and Saints marks.” He asked the Board to consider a number of cease and desist letters that the Saints had sent to small vendors in 2009 demanding they stop using the fleur-de-lis symbol and suggested if the cancellation was not successful that the Board transfer the marks to Messier’s family, after which they “will be willing to entertain negotiations in a fair and balanced process within the community at large including the small vendors / businesses.” This would protect the marks for both his family and the community, the petition alleged.

In their initial reply, the Saints called Messier’s petition “the latest installment in his decade-plus-long disconcerting and unfounded campaign against the Saints Club.”

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) first granted the Saints’ motion to dismiss but allowed leave to file an amended petition, and ultimately granted the Saints’ second motion to dismiss after the Board said Messier had again failed to state a claim for relief. Specifically, Messier failed to allege any commercial interest in the mark or “a reasonable belief in damage from the mark’s continued registration.” The Board also scolded Messier for filing a surreply brief and attachments after briefing on the second motion to dismiss had concluded and refused to consider those.

On appeal to the CAFC, the court said Messier failed to satisfy the requirement for Article III standing because he failed to show injury as a result of the Saints’ registration. The opinion explained:

“Mr. Messier has not alleged that he or his family make, offer for sale, or sell any products or services using a fleur-de-lis design. Nor has he alleged that he is, in any manner, involved in commercial “entertainment services,” in connection with football or any other form of commerce where he uses a fleur-de-lis design.”

While the court noted that Messier alluded to allegations of confusing similarity between the Saints mark and “his family’s private use of fleur-de-lis designs, now and for several centuries,” and that he speculated he may license fleur-de-lis marks in the future, the CAFC called these “at best, allegations of ‘hypothetical’ or ‘future possible injury,’ which are insufficient to confer Article III standing.”