Defendants have moved for summary judgment on Plaintiffs' claims for trademark infringement and misuse. Under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 43, a literary title is entitled to protection when the title has obtained secondary meaning. See, e.g., Twin Peaks Prods. Inc. v. Publications Int'l, Ltd., 996 F.2d 1366, 1379 n.4; Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. v. Leisure Time Prods., B.V., 749 F. Supp. 1243, 1252 (S.D.N.Y. 1990). Secondary meaning will be found "when the title is sufficiently well known that consumers associate it with a particular author's work." Id.
Whether secondary meaning exists is a factual determination, "proof of which entails vigorous evidentiary requirements," Innovative Networks, Inc. v. Satellite Airlines Ticketing Centers, 871 F. Supp. 709, 723 (S.D.N.Y. 1995) (quoting Inwood Labs. v. Ives Labs., 456 U.S. 844, 851 (1982)), and "[t]here is no question that Lanham Act claims are uniquely fact-intensive and are best decided after the trier of fact is afforded exposure to opposing litigants' arguments in the courtroom." Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. v. Leisure Time Prods., B.V., 1992-2 Trade Cases P 69,990, 1992 WL 296314 (S.D.N.Y.).
Defendants contend that Plaintiffs have offered no proof that either the title "A Course in Miracles" or the acronym "ACIM" have acquired secondary meaning. However, both of these marks have
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