Question Certified by Second Circuit to New York Court of Appeals

Yesterday the New York Court of Appeals accepted the following certified questions from the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, in  ITC Limited and ITC Hotels Limited, Appellants, v Punchgini, Inc., Raja Jhanjee, Paragnesh Desai, Vicky Vij, Dhandu Ram, Mahendra Singh, Bachan Rawat, Bukhara Grill II, Inc., Docket No. 05-0933-cv:

1. Does New York common law permit the owner of a famous mark or trade dress to assert property rights therein by virtue of the owner’s prior use of the mark or dress in a foreign country?

2. If so, how famous must a foreign mark be to permit a foreign mark owner to bring a claim for unfair competition?