Using part of an "anticipated order" from a competitor's supplier constitutes reverse passing off, despite Dastar

OTR Wheel Eng'g, Inc. v. West Worldwide Servs., Nos. 16-35897 16-35936, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20520 (9th Cir. Jul. 24, 2018)OTR Wheel and West compete to sell industrial tires. “West asked one of OTR’s suppliers to provide him with sample tires from OTR’s molds, and he asked the supplier to remove OTR’s identifying information from the tires.” This constituted reverse passing off.Specifically, West asked the supplier, Superhawk, for 16 of the relevant tires for testing by a potential customer. Superhawk said it would take 50 days to make a mold for the tires. West responded, “I really need it much sooner. . . .  Could you buff off the [OTR] name on the sidewall or just remove the plate and let me get the tire tested? … If we take out the nameplate and all the sidewall information, nobody will know.”  It appears that spring plates used with the molds were used to prevent imprinting of OTR’s mark onto the tires,…

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