Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park and Fly, Inc.

Decided January 8, 1985. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-1132 · 469 U.S. 189 (1985) · Cited 962 times

Holding

The holder of a registered mark may rely on incontestability to enjoin infringement, and an infringement action may not be defended on the grounds that the mark is merely descriptive.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner · 387 U.S. 136 (1967)
• Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo · 456 U.S. 305 (1982)
• Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
• Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc. · 458 U.S. 564 (1982)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• Hecht Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 321 (1944)
• Johnson v. Robison · 415 U.S. 361 (1974)
• Virginian Railway Co. v. System Federation No. 40 · 300 U.S. 515 (1937)
• Barlow v. Collins · 397 U.S. 159 (1970)
• Porter v. Warner Holding Co. · 328 U.S. 395 (1946)
• American Tobacco Co. v. Patterson · 456 U.S. 63 (1982)
• Hanover Star Milling Co. v. Metcalf · 240 U.S. 403 (1916)
• Dunlop v. Bachowski · 421 U.S. 560 (1975)
• Morton Salt Co. v. G. S. Suppiger Co. · 314 U.S. 488 (1942)
• American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. v. Donovan · 452 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Canal Co. v. Clark · 80 U.S. 311 (1872)
• Stafford v. Briggs · 444 U.S. 527 (1980)
• United States v. Erika, Inc. · 456 U.S. 201 (1982)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee · 483 U.S. 522 (1987)
• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc. · 505 U.S. 763 (1992)
• B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc. · 575 U.S. 138 (2015)
• Vidal v. Elster · 602 U.S. 286 (2024)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 504 U.S. 374 (1992)
• Florida Power & Light Co. v. Lorion · 470 U.S. 729 (1985)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Massachusetts · 471 U.S. 724 (1985)
• MacKey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc. · 486 U.S. 825 (1988)
• FMC Corp. v. Holliday · 498 U.S. 52 (1990)
• CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries · 553 U.S. 442 (2008)
• United States v. Albertini · 472 U.S. 675 (1985)
• Gutierrez De Martinez v. Lamagno · 515 U.S. 417 (1995)
• Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co. · 514 U.S. 159 (1995)
• Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran · 536 U.S. 355 (2002)
• KP Permanent Make-Up, Inc. v. Lasting Impression I, Inc. · 543 U.S. 111 (2004)
• John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance v. Harris Trust & Savings Bank · 510 U.S. 86 (1993)
• Engine Manufacturers Ass'n v. South Coast Air Quality Management District · 541 U.S. 246 (2004)
• Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc. · 604 U.S. 321 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).