and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sun Life Insurance Company of America. Plaintiffs are an American holding company, SunAmerica, Inc. The case came to trial on November 15, 1993. On September 9, 1992, the Eleventh Circuit vacated this Court's injunction and remanded for further proceedings. The Court enjoined Defendants from further use of the "Sun Life" name without the geographic modifier "of Canada." See Order, entered August 22, 1991.
On motions for summary judgment, this Court ruled that Defendants' use of "Sun Life (U.S.)" presented a substantial likelihood of confusion with Plaintiffs' mark "Sun Life of America." See Order, entered June 10, 1991. At trial, Defendants did not deny the likelihood of confusion, but contended that the parties' simultaneous use of the salient phrase "Sun Life," even if modified by geographic terms such as "of America" or "of Canada," is inevitably confusing. Both Plaintiffs and Defendants currently use corporate names, trade names, and service marks featuring the term "Sun Life." Plaintiffs claim that Defendants recently began to use the names "Sun Life (U.S.)" and "Sun Life" prominently in advertising without any proximate reference to "Canada." Such use, said Plaintiffs, is confusing to consumers. Plaintiffs filed this trademark infringement action charging Defendants with violations of the Lanham Act and various state laws concerning trademark protection. History of the Parties and Their Names 1564 Having carefully considered the evidence presented, the arguments of counsel, and the relevant law governing the parties' claims, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial record contains well over a thousand pages of live and deposition testimony, the controversial results of a joint survey, and many volumes of exhibits documenting the evolution of this conflict since 1916. This trademark action came before the Court for a non-jury trial during November and December, 1993. Welch, Brett August, Pattishall McAuliffe Newbury, et al., Chicago, IL, for defendants Sun Life Assur. Gallagher-Duff, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC, David C. Leverich, Steven Semeraro, Judith Sapp, Kathleen T. Persons, Randall Lee Allen, James Jay Wolfson, Reta Gail Jordan, Alston & Bird, Atlanta, GA, Bingham B. Harris, Broad, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, for SunAmerica Corp. Browne, Bishop Cook Purcell & Reynolds, Washington, DC, Susan L. Taylor, Matthew John Mitten, Dean Wall Russell, Kilpatrick & Cody, Atlanta, GA, Richard C.
SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA, a Canadian Corporation, and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.), a Delaware Corporation, Defendants. SunAMERICA CORPORATION (formerly Sun Life Group of America, Inc.), a Delaware Corporation, and Sun Life Insurance Company of America, a Maryland Corporation, Plaintiffs,
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