INFRINGEMENT OF “SLOGAN” TRIGGERS THE DUTY TO DEFEND

In recent years, insurers have modified the coverage for “personal and advertising injury” in the standard form used in commercial general liability coverage to exclude claims for trademark infringement.   However, the coverage form continues to include “Infringing upon another’s copyright, trade dress or slogan in your ‘advertisement’” within the definition of “personal and advertising injury. ” In lawsuits involving trademark infringement and related claims, policyholders should carefully examine the complaint to determine if the potential for infringement of “slogan” exists, thereby triggering a duty to defend the case notwithstanding any exclusion for trademark infringement. The term “slogan” itself is not defined in the personal and advertising injury coverage form. Thus, courts will look to the term’s ordinary and common usage, and in that context, “slogan” has been broadly defined. One court observed: “A slogan is a ‘brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion’ . . . or ‘a phrase used repeatedly, as in promotion. ’” Palmer v.