APP Group (Canada) Inc. v. Rudsak USA Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 10, 2022
Docket1:21-cv-07712
StatusUnknown

This text of APP Group (Canada) Inc. v. Rudsak USA Inc. (APP Group (Canada) Inc. v. Rudsak USA Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
APP Group (Canada) Inc. v. Rudsak USA Inc., (S.D.N.Y. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UDSODCCU MSDENNYT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ELECTRONICALLY FILED -------------------------------------------------------------- X DOC #: APP GROUP (CANADA) INC. d/b/a : DATE FILED: 08/10 /2022 MACKAGE and A.P.P. GROUP INC. : d/b/a MACKAGE, : 21-CV-7712 (VEC) : Plaintiffs, : OPINION & ORDER : -against- : : RUDSAK USA INC., : : Defendant. : -------------------------------------------------------------- X VALERIE CAPRONI, United States District Judge: APP Group (Canada) Inc. and A.P.P. Group Inc. (collectively “Mackage”), Canadian and American corporate entities that own the fashion label Mackage, sued Rudsak USA Inc. (“Rudsak”) for trade dress infringement, trade dress dilution, deceptive business practices, and common law unfair competition. Plaintiffs allege that Rudsak produces and sells coats featuring knock-offs of Mackage’s designs. Rudsak moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is GRANTED. BACKGROUND Mackage is a high-end fashion label that was founded in 1999; it is owned and operated by APP Group (Canada) Inc. and its wholly-owned American subsidiary, A.P.P. Group Inc. Compl., Dkt. 1 ¶¶ 1–2, 8. On September 15, 2021, Mackage sued, alleging that Rudsak produced and sold coats that infringe upon its protectable trade dress: a V-shaped “fur- collar/hood” “and/or” an asymmetrical zipper. Id. ¶¶ 14, 53. Mackage alleges that it has used this trade dress in the American market since at least August 2007, id. ¶ 18–20, and that the trade dress has been featured in storefronts, advertisements, popular magazines and websites, and by celebrities, fashion bloggers, and social media “influencers.” See id. ¶¶ 23–32. Mackage claims that Rudsak, an apparel manufacturer and distributor, “engaged in a scheme to willfully and slavishly copy Mackage’s Trade Dress.” Id. ¶ 37. Mackage brings claims against Rudsak for (1) trade dress infringement and trade dress

dilution under 15 U.S.C. § 1125, (2) trade dress dilution under New York General Business Law § 360-l, (3) unlawful and deceptive acts and practices under New York General Business Law §§ 349 and 133, and (4) unfair competition under New York common law. Rudsak moved to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Mot. to Dismiss, Dkt. 12. Mackage opposed the motion. See Resp., Dkt. 23. LEGAL STANDARD To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, “a complaint must allege sufficient facts, taken as true, to state a plausible claim for

relief.” Johnson v. Priceline.com, Inc., 711 F.3d 271, 275 (2d Cir. 2013) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555–56 (2007)). “[T]o survive a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint does not need to contain detailed or elaborate factual allegations, but only allegations sufficient to raise an entitlement to relief above the speculative level.” Keiler v. Harlequin Enters. Ltd., 751 F.3d 64, 70 (2d Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). When considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court accepts all factual allegations in the complaint as true and draws all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. See Gibbons v. Malone, 703 F.3d 595, 599 (2d Cir. 2013) (citation omitted). The Court is not required, however, “to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). DISCUSSION I. Mackage Has Failed to State a Claim for Trade Dress Infringement Trade dress under 15 U.S.C. § 1125 is a “broad concept” that “encompasses the design

and appearance of the product together with all the elements making up the overall image that serves to identify the product presented to the customer.” Fun-Damental Too, Ltd. v. Gemmy Indus. Corp., 111 F.3d 993, 999, 1001 (2d Cir. 1997). Two types of trade dress are entitled to protection: (1) product packaging, or the “dressing” of a product, and (2) product design, or the “configuration of the product itself.” Heller Inc. v. Design Within Reach, Inc., 2009 WL 2486054, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 14, 2009); see also Landscape Forms, Inc. v. Columbia Cascade Co., 113 F.3d 373, 379 (2d Cir. 1997). Mackage seeks protection for a “Trade Dress constituting a combination of distinctive features that identify the goods as originating from Mackage; including (i) the V-Shaped Collar; and/or (ii) the Asymmetrical Zipper.” Compl. ¶ 53. Because these features concern key aspects of the product itself, Mackage’s claim concerns a product

design trade dress. To state a claim for product design trade dress infringement, a plaintiff must provide “a precise expression of the character and scope of the claimed trade dress” and articulate the elements of design with specificity. Landscape Forms, 113 F.3d at 381–82. This specificity is achieved by “articulat[ing] the design elements that compose” the trade dress. Yurman Design, Inc. v. PAJ, Inc., 262 F.3d 101, 1116 (2d Cir. 2001). The Supreme Court explained that distinctiveness is the mainstay of a trade dress claim: Nothing in § 43(a) explicitly requires a producer to show that its trade dress is distinctive, but courts have universally imposed that requirement, since without distinctiveness the trade dress would not cause confusion . . . as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of [the] goods, as the section requires. Distinctiveness is, moreover, an explicit prerequisite for registration of trade dress under § 2, and the general principles qualifying a mark for registration under § 2 of the Lanham Act are for the most part applicable in determining whether an unregistered mark is entitled to protection under § 43(a).

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Bros., Inc., 529 U.S. 205,210 (2000) (internal quotation omitted). A plaintiff also “must allege that (1) the claimed trade dress is non-functional; (2) the claimed trade dress has secondary meaning; and (3) there is a likelihood of confusion between the [parties’] goods.” Sherwood 48 Assocs. v. Sony Corp. of Am., 76 F. App’x 389, 391 (2d Cir. 2003); see also Yurman Design, 262 F.3d at 115. Courts must exercise “particular caution” in considering trade dress infringement claims related to product design because they “raise a potent risk that relief will impermissibly afford a level of protection that would hamper efforts to market competitive goods.” Yurman, 262 F.3d at 114 (citation omitted). A. The Complaint Contains Inadequate Allegations Describing the Product Design Trade Dress

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Bluebook (online)
APP Group (Canada) Inc. v. Rudsak USA Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/app-group-canada-inc-v-rudsak-usa-inc-nysd-2022.