AirWair International Ltd. v. Pull & Bear Espana SA

District Court, N.D. California·Decided November 15, 2021·No. 3:19-cv-07641·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 AIRWAIR INTERNATIONAL LTD., Case No. 19-cv-07641-SI

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S 9 v. MOTION FOR PERMANENT INJUNCTION 10 ITX USA LLC, Dkt. No. 189 11 Defendant.

12 13 Before the Court is a motion for a permanent injunction filed by plaintiff AirWair 14 International Ltd. (“plaintiff” or “AirWair”) against defendant ITX USA, LLC (“ITX” or 15 “defendant”). Dkt. No. 189 (Plaintiff’s Motion). On November 12, 2021, the Court held a hearing 16 and heard argument. Having considered the parties’ papers and the arguments made during the 17 hearing, the Court hereby GRANTS plaintiff’s motion as discussed below. 18 19 BACKGROUND 20 Plaintiff owns the following trade dress, referred to collectively as “Dr. Martens Trade 21 Dress”: Registration No. 2437751 is directed to “a combination of yellow stitching in the welt area, 22 and a two-tone grooved sole edge”; Registration No. 5067689 is directed to “a sole edge including 23 longitudinal ribbing, and a dark color band over a light color”; Registration No. 5067692 is directed 24 to “longitudinal ribbing and a dark color band over a light color on the outer sole edge, welt stitching, 25 and a tab located at the top back heel of footwear”; and Overall visual impression of welt stitching, 26 a grooved sole edge, an angled heel, a platform sole, the “Quad” cleat pattern, and a heel loop 27 corresponds to the “Jadon Design.” See e.g., Dkt. No. 189 at 2 (Motion for PI); see, e.g., Dkt. No. 1

3 a — 4 5 6 — - = eh 7 ~~ ee = J 7 TN 8 — 9 = eee 10 11 Dkt. No. 189-1, Exhibit D (Specimen) Dkt. No. 189-1, Exhibit E (“Jadon”)

B In 2019, defendant sold four styles of shoes that a jury found infringed plaintiffs protected

4 trade dress. Dkt. No. 189 at 5; see Dkt. No. 189-1 Exhibits F-I. Specifically, on August 9, 2021, S 5 the jury returned the following verdict in plaintiffs favor:

A 16 (1) Regarding plaintiffs first claim (Infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)): that I plaintiffs ‘751,689, and ‘692 registrations are valid and protectable, that plaintiff 7 owns the marks, and that defendant infringed these registered marks. Id. at p. 2-3.

a 18 (2) Regarding plaintiff's second and third claims (Unfair competition under 15 I U.S.C. § 1125 and California common law): that defendant used trade dress similar 9 to the overall visual impression of the Jadon Design without the plaintiffs consent > in a manner that is likely to cause confusion among ordinary consumers and the 0 general public as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or approval of the defendant’s goods. Id. at p. 4-5. 9 (3) Regarding plaintiffs fourth and fifth claims (Trademark Dilution under 15 U.S.C. §1125(c) and California Business & Professions Code § 14247): that the ‘689 trade > dress, ‘692 trade dress, and ‘751 trade dress, and Jadon Design are famous, and 3 defendant diluted the ‘689 trade dress, ‘692 trade dress, and ‘751 trade dress, and Jadon Design. Id. at p. 5-6. Dkt. No. 183 at p. 2-3 (Jury Verdict Form). 36 Plaintiff requests the following language for a permanent injunction: 27 28

the court permanently enjoin ITX and its officers, directors, servants, 1 employees, attorneys, agents, representatives, partners, joint venturers, corporate affiliates, successors, assigns, and all persons in 2 active concert or participation with it, from: A. designing, manufacturing, importing, shipping, delivering, 3 selling, marketing, displaying, advertising, or promoting footwear in the United States that use any of the following trade dress1 (“Dr. 4 Martens Trade Dress”), alone or in combination: 1. Registration No. 2,437,751 (a combination of 5 yellow stitching in the welt area, and a two-tone grooved sole edge); 6 2. Registration No. 5,067,689 (a sole edge including longitudinal ribbing, and a dark color band over a light color); 7 3. Registration No. 5,067,692 (longitudinal ribbing and a dark color band over a light color on the outer sole edge, 8 welt stitching, and a tab located at the top back heel of footwear); 9 4. The overall visual impression of welt stitching, a grooved sole edge, an angled heel, a platform sole, the “Quad” 10 cleat pattern, and a heel loop (the “Jadon Design”); and/or B. designing, manufacturing, importing, shipping, delivering, 11 selling, marketing, displaying, advertising, or promoting footwear in the United States that use the elements of the trade dress in a manner 12 that is a colorable imitation of or confusingly similar to the Dr. Martens Trade Dress, alone or in combination; and/or 13 C. representing or implying, directly or indirectly, to retailers, customers, distributors, licensees, or any other customers or potential 14 customers of the products of ITX or to any corporate affiliate of ITX (collectively, “ITX Products”) that ITX Products originate with, are 15 sponsored, endorsed, or licensed by, or are otherwise associated or affiliated with AirWair or Dr. Martens. 16 (Dkt. No. 189 at 2-3). 17

18 LEGAL STANDARD 19 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 governs the issuance of injunctions. To obtain a 20 permanent injunction, a plaintiff must satisfy four factors: “(1) that it has suffered an irreparable 21 injury; (2) that remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate 22 for that injury; (3) that, considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a 23 remedy in equity is warranted; and (4) that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent 24 injunction.” eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388, 391 (2006) (citations omitted). 25 The Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1116(a), 1125(c)(1)) provides for injunctive relief for claims 26 of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and trademark dilution. California statute (Cal. Bus. 27 1 & Prof. Code § 14247(b)) provides for injunctive relief for claims of trademark dilution. More 2 particularly, “[i]injunctive relief is the remedy of choice for trademark and unfair competition cases, 3 since there is no adequate remedy at law for the injury caused by a defendant’s continuing 4 infringement.” Century 21 Real Estate Corp. v. Sandlin, 846 F.2d 1175, 1180 (9th Cir. 1988). 5 6 DISCUSSION 7 I. Irreparable Harm 8 Under the Lanham Act, plaintiff is “entitled to a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm 9 upon a finding of a violation” of “any right of the registrant” of a registered mark or under 15 U.S.C. 10 1125. 15. U.S.C. § 1116 (West).1 Regarding voluntary cessation, defendant “bears the formidable 11 burden” of demonstrating voluntary compliance by showing ‘it is absolutely clear the allegedly 12 wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur.’” Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., 568 13 U.S. 85, 91 (2013) (internal citations omitted); see Polo Fashions, Inc. v. Dick Bruhn, Inc., 793 F.2d 14 1132, 1135 (9th Cir. 1986) (internal citations omitted) (“any doubt in respect to the extent [of relief] 15 thereof must be resolved in its [plaintiff’s] favor and against” the defendant). 16 “Evidence of threatened loss of prospective customers or goodwill certainly supports a 17 finding of the possibility of irreparable harm.” Stuhlbarg Int'l Sales Co. v. John D.

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