been registered by Plaintiffs with the PTO. "A certificate of registration of a mark [is] prima facie evidence of [its] validity …, of the registrant's ownership of the mark, and of the registrant's exclusive right to use the registered mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods or services specified in the certificate… ." 15 U.S.C. § 1057(b). Moreover, Plaintiffs claim that expert discovery on the trademark issues has been stayed pending resolution of the copyright issues in the case, and that they have retained an expert on the issue of the secondary meaning of the disputed marks. Defendants respond that discovery has closed and Plaintiffs have failed to notify them of this purported expert.
It is not necessary to resolve these questions, however. At the very least, many of the affidavits and much of the documentary evidence submitted by Defendants themselves provide evidence that the marks have acquired secondary meaning. Numerous articles, newsletters, e-mail messages, and other evidence demonstrate that many members of the public identify "A Course in Miracles" and "ACIM" with FIP and FACIM. While this evidence is not sufficient in and of itself to establish secondary meaning, it does establish an issue of material fact. A similar unresolved question is whether Plaintiffs abandoned their marks by failing to police adequately their use.
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