IP Law Daily, TRADEMARK—E.D. La.: Court finds unauthorized use of ‘A+PEL’ logo but awards no damages, (Oct 19, 2026)

By Brian Craig, J.D.

The court awarded no monetary damages or injunctive relief because the trademark owner failed to show any diversion of sales resulting from unauthorized use of the logo.

The federal district court in Louisiana has concluded that while an organization that markets training programs to teachers and school districts improperly used a competitor’s “A+PEL” logo and trademark in violation of the Lanham Act, the court awarded no monetary damages or injunctive relief to the trademark owner. In granting summary judgment in favor of the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana, the court found that a competitor, EDU20/20 LLC and a former employee, improperly used the competing organization’s “A+PEL” logo in presentations to support trademark infringement. But the trademark owner failed to show any diversion of sales from use of the logo and the court awarded no remedies resulting in a “pyrrhic victory” for the trademark owner (Associated Professional Educators Of Louisiana v. EDU 20/20 LLC, No. 1:22-cv-05720-TAD-JPM (W.D. La. Oct. 14, 2026)).

The Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (“A+PEL”) is an organization that offers training and certification programs marketed to teachers and school districts. A+PEL owns the registered trademark for the “A+PEL” logo. An employee of A+PEL co-founded EDU20/20, a competing business for contracts with local school districts, while still working at A+PEL. A+PEL terminated the employee after learning about the employee’s involvement with the competing business. A+PEL filed a lawsuit in 2022 against EDU20/20 and its co-founders alleging claims for violations of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Louisiana Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and related claims. After more than a year of discovery, A+PEL added a trademark infringement claim for violation of the Lanham Act. A+PEL alleged that the former employee and co-founder of EDU20/20 used the A+PEL logo on one biographical slide in the beginning of four presentations at conferences marketed to educators. The district court then granted summary judgment on all claims. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the trade secrets claims but vacated the district court’s dismissal of the Lanham Act claim. Following remand, the parties cross-moved for summary judgment.

Likelihood of confusion. Weighing the relevant factors, the court concluded that the former employee’s and EDU20/20’s use of the “A+PEL” logo creates a likelihood of confusion. Seven out of the eight likelihood-of-confusion factors support a likelihood of consumer confusion. The court found that the A+PEL mark with an apple logo is strong. The similarity of the marks factor also supports a likelihood of confusion because the presenter used the exact mark owned by A+PEL in the presentations. The factor as to the similarity of the products or services supports a likelihood of confusion. Both organizations market their services to the same consumers: educators, schools, and school districts. The court found sufficient evidence of actual confusion that resulted from use of A+PEL’s logo in the presentations. Two individuals familiar with educational professional development in Louisiana wrote affidavits that they were actually confused. The only factor that did not support a likelihood of confusion is intent, which cannot be resolved in either direction because intent is a fact-intensive inquiry peculiar to the province of the jury. In evaluating the relevant factors, the court found sufficient evidence to support a likelihood of confusion, thus granting summary judgment in favor of A+PEL.

Nominative fair use. The court also rejected EDU20/20’s permission and nominative fair use defense. The court found that use of the A+PEL logo implied a relationship between A+PEL and EDU20/20, which would not be a truthful reference to a real relationship between the two organizations. At the time the former employee used the logo in the presentation, she was still employed by A+PEL.

Remedies. Even though the court found a likelihood of confusion, the court awarded no monetary damages or injunctive relief to A+PEL. A+PEL pointed to potential customers that were diverted, but the court found the record does not support a finding that sales were tied to the logo infringement. The subsequent interest that the former A+PEL employee received in services following one of the conferences could have been from a number of factors: her representations as an employee of A+PEL, her previous connections, or other factors. Regardless of the impropriety and apparent duplicity in diverting customers, the record does not support a finding that use of the logo resulted in sales. Furthermore, the court concluded that A+PEL failed to show inadequacy of other remedies and palming off to support injunctive relief.

While the court found that EDU20/20 and its co-founders violated the Lanham Act, the court held that A+PEL is not entitled to either monetary damages or injunctive relief when the trademark owner failed to show any diversion of sales resulting from use of the A+PEL logo. In addition, the court declined to award an accounting for profits. The court observed that the “pyrrhic victory” reflects the strange, though not uncommon, reality with the Lanham Act. A pyrrhic victory results in success that comes at such a high cost to the winner that it is practically a defeat. The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims. Thus, the court granted summary judgment in favor of A+PEL on the trademark infringement claim but awarded no remedies in the form of either monetary damages or injunctive relief.

The Case is No. 1:22-cv-05720-TAD-JPM.

Judge: Doughty, T.

Attorneys: Jonathan David Stokes (Chadwick Odom & Stokes LLC) for Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana. Bradley L. Drell (Gold Weems APLC) for Edu20/20 LLC.

Companies: Edu20/20 LLC

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