Historically, an equitable defense was one that was only available in the courts of equity, and not the courts of law. Since the focus in the courts of equity was predominately to enforce principals of fairness, it is not surprising that an equitable defense in the modern trademark law context is one that courts tend to invoke out of a sense of justice and fairness when the plaintiff's conduct was somehow lacking. In trademark law, equitable defenses include laches, unclean hands, and acquiescence.
