Very few political parties gain any traction outside of the Democrats and Republicans in America. However, the Libertarian Party always garners some attention on the national stage. Unfortunately, one state party’s effort to secure victory in the upcoming election may be a bit more challenging due to a trademark dispute within the Libertarian Party of Michigan.

Separate factions of libertarians in the state fought over the party trademark in a battle that’s already reached the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The case involved disputes over leadership in the state party, and the “rebel libertarians” sought continued use of identifying trademarks used within the party. As of now, their efforts seem to have derailed.

A Party Divided Against Itself…

After changes were made to the Libertarian Party National Platform during the party’s 2022 convention, a dispute over party leadership broke out. Following the platform changes, two top leaders within the Michigan Libertarians resigned from their posts. This led to Andrew Chadderdon — then the third most senior member — becoming acting chair of the state party.

This resulted in a major dispute within the party, with dissenting members voting to remove Chadderdon and place themselves on the executive committee. The Libertarian Party Judicial Committee eventually overturned this move, and Chadderdon was reinstated to his leadership position while the dissenting members were removed.

Despite the party’s judicial ruling, the dissenting members felt that they were still the state party’s rightful executive leadership. With this belief in mind, the group continued using the Libertarian National Committee’s (LNC) trademarks.  After requests to cease using the party’s trademarks were ignored, the LNC filed a federal case against the dissidents.

Libertarian Party Trademark Dispute Goes to Court

When the Libertarian National Committee sued the opposing faction of their party, they requested a preliminary injunction against what they claimed was blatant trademark infringement. The dissenting members apparently continued representing themselves as the state’s official leadership — even using party trademarks to solicit donations, advertise events, conduct administrative and financial tasks, and push political positions.

The preliminary injunction was granted, and the dissenting faction of the party appealed. They argued that their use of the Libertarian Party trademark was political speech rather than commercial activity. They further claimed that their use was protected political expression. However, the Sixth Circuit did not agree – saying that their use of party labels served as a source identifier rather than protected speech.

What Happens Now?

The Sixth Circuit used the recent Supreme Court decision involving Jack Daniels and a dog toy to justify their ruling that the injunction should stand. They further dismissed claims from the dissenting faction of the Libertarian Party that their usage could not be infringement since it didn’t involve goods and services. In fact, trademark rights have long been applied to both political organizations and nonprofits.

At this point, the rebellious group within the Michigan Libertarian Party will remain barred from using the party’s identifying trademarks. The Sixth Circuit did say that certain fundraising activities could continue – since the dissenting members provided a disclaimer when soliciting them – but the affirmed injunction will certainly hinder their political activities.

The dissenters do have some appeal options, with their best bet being the Supreme Court. However, it remains unknown whether SCOTUS will want to involve itself in state party matters – particularly when the issues seem straightforward. If there’s one thing we know for sure, though, it’s that any dissension within the party doesn’t bode well for Libertarians in November.