NAM Counsel Says Lower Court Ruling Undercuts Federal Law
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Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 25 Jun 2007 20:32
The National Association of Manufacturers today joined the Washington Legal Foundation in an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals involving intellectual property.
"Congress has recognized that trafficking in counterfeit goods is a serious economic problem, and has responded with a series of laws designed to both protect consumers and to provide trademark owners with the tools necessary to protect their property rights," said Quentin Riegel, NAM Vice President for Litigation and Deputy General Counsel.
"The decision at issue, if left to stand, will severely undercut one of the most significant tools provided by the law - federal injunctions against retailers who sell counterfeit goods."
The case involved a retail business in Denver, I&G Liquors, which sold counterfeit packages of Newport cigarettes to representatives of Lorillard Tobacco Company, the maker of the Newport brand. Lorillard filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the retailer from selling additional counterfeit cigarettes. The retailer did not deny the facts of the case or offer to make any effort to prevent such sales of counterfeit cigarettes in the future. A district judge denied the motion without a written opinion, but comments by the judge suggested he was influenced by the small size of the defendant's business, his denial that he knowingly sold counterfeit cigarettes, and the small number of counterfeit cigarettes sold. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court decision.
"The Tenth Circuit's ruling provides district courts with virtually unlimited discretion to deny injunctions in trademark infringement cases," the amicus brief contends. Review is warranted because the decision "is so clearly at odds with congressional enactments designed to protect trademark rights, as well as with well-established principles of equity practice."
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