Trademark Declaratory Judgment Action filed in Indiana over Protective Trading Card Sleeves

BCW Diversified, Inc. (“BCW”) is a Middletown, Indiana-based manufacturer of protective card sleeves for collectible trading cards. In this new federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Indiana, BCW has filed declaratory judgment complaint against Defendant Ultra PRO International, LLC (“Ultra Pro”). BCW seeks a declaration that Ultra Pro owns no valid, enforceable rights in the following marks: TOPLOADER, PENNY SLEEVES, PRO-BINDER, MINI SNAP, CHROMAFUSION TECHNOLOGY, and DECK VAULT.

Ultra Pro owns U.S. trademark registrations for the disputed trademarks, but BCW asserts that the registrations are invalid. BCW claims that it has used the terms “top loaders,” “penny sleeves,” and “mini-snap” for thirty years in connection with the manufacture, promotion, and sale of protective card sleeves for collectible trading cards. BCW maintains that its use of these terms is not an infringing use because the disputed terms are generic or, at a minimum, merely descriptive of the goods at issue. Allegedly, third parties throughout the industry make wide use of the disputed trademarks in a descriptive fashion.

BCW received cease-and-desist demands from Ultra Pro and a lawsuit was filed against it by Ultra Pro in the Northern District of Illinois in June 2024. Ultra Pro has also filed a lawsuit against 133 of BCW’s retailers.

Stay tuned to see how Ultra Pro responds to this Declaratory Judgment action.

BCW Diversified, Inc. v. Ultra Pro International, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:24-cv-01699-RLY-MJD
File Date: September 30, 2024
Plaintiff: BCW Diversified, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Marc C. Gravino, Joel M. Huotari of WilliamsMcCarthy, LLP
Defendant: Ultra Pro International, LLC
Cause: Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement, Declaratory Judgment of No Dilution, Declaratory Judgment of No Unfair Competition, Declaratory Judgment of Trademark Invalidity
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint: