Judge Won’t Snuff|High Times Trademark

SPOKANE, Wash. (CN) - A retail marijuana store in Eastern Washington lost its bid to cancel a trademark of High Times magazine.

Trans-High Corp., which publishes High Times magazine, sued the High Time Station marijuana dispensary in Ephrata last year for trademark infringement.

Ephrata, pop. 7,700, is the seat of Grant County, about two hours west of Spokane.

Retail sale of marijuana became legal in Washington in 2014, and pot shops opened around the state.

The operator of High Time Station, Richard Reimers, filed a counterclaim, asking a federal judge in Washington's Eastern District to cancel one of Trans-High's trademarks.

Reimers claimed Trans-High illegally sold goods that are not listed in its trademark registration, and said the magazine's ads for drug paraphernalia and marijuana by third parties violate the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Trans-High moved to dismiss the counterclaim, which Senior U.S. District Judge Lonny Suko granted on Monday.

"None of the goods and services for which the registrations have been issued are unlawful," Suko wrote. "The Controlled Substances Act expressly excludes from its scope a party's mere advertisement or 'promotion' of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia."

Suko dismissed the counterclaim with prejudice.

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