Insta-fine?

Since late 2020, Instagram has been fighting to block Australian company Instagoods from registering the trademark Instagoods, and Instagram recently secured a small win. Instagram is now likely to depose one of the Instagoods executives, who is located in New South Wales via videoconference. (I say “likely” because Instagram must still seek a separate letter of request for discovery by way of the Hague Convention and approval by the local (to Instagoods) court.)

 The parties spent ten months fighting this issue alone. Written discovery is the standard in this situation, but, apparently, a former Instagoods executive is either unreachable or provides opaque responses to written discovery. Instagram claims this former executive doesn’t directly answer questions, which is dragging the proceeding out. I imagine Instagram must be wondering what the former executive is hiding, if they are going through so much to fight this issue.

 It’s an interesting situation establishing a new precedent with regard to international discovery and, again, a small win for Instagram. TTAB Opposition Proceeding 91266266.

 Unfortunately for Instagram, none of this has stopped them from looking at this all day: