Chanel, Inc. v. Lin

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided April 5, 2023·No. 1:23-cv-02004·Unknown

Opinion

DOCUMENT ELECTRONICALLY FILED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DOC #: SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DATE FILED: 4/5/2023 CHANEL, INC., Civil Case No. 1:23-cv-02004-JHR Plaintiff, “against- {PROPOSED} PRELIMINARY XIAOLE LIN, SHUN MIAO DING, GUO L. pe HUANG, XIAOWEI GAO, XINGYUN HU, MING LI, FEI Y. LU, YONGCHAN ZHANG, YU HOU QU, CAI QIN XIE, XIAOLIU WANG, and JOHN and JANE DOES 1-100, Defendants.

WHEREAS, on March 10, 2023, Plaintiff Chanel, Inc. (Plaintiff? or “Chanel’) commenced this action and sought the entry of (1) an ex parte temporary restraining order pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1116 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b), (2) an order granting leave for Chanel to take expedited discovery pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(d), and (3) an order to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1116, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(1), N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 360-1, and Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a) (“Motion for Preliminary Injunction,” and, collectively, the “Application”); WHEREAS, on March 17, 2023, the Court held a hearing on the Plaintiff's Application; WHEREAS, on March 20, 2023, the Court granted Chanel’s Application and entered an Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”), Order Authorizing Expedited Discovery, and Order to Show Cause for a Preliminary Injunction ordering Defendants to appear before the Court and show cause on April 3, 2023 why a preliminary injunction should not be issued pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1116, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(1), N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 360-1, and Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a);

WHEREAS, on March 22, 2023, Chanel posted a undertaking in the amount of $5,000 with the Clerk of Court to provide security for the payment of such costs and damages as may be incurred or suffered by any party as a result of a wrongful implementation of the TRO, or any part thereof; WHEREAS, Chanel timely served the Summons, Complaint, TRO, and all supporting papers on all Defendants and filed proof of service with the Court; WHEREAS, Defendants did not file any papers opposing Chanel’s Application or Motion for Preliminary Injunction and did not appear at the order to show cause hearing on April 3, 2023; WHEREAS, the Court, having considered Chanel’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law: FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Chanel is the owner of several valid and subsisting trademark registrations, including, but not limited to, the federally registered marks CHANEL, the CC Monogram, and design marks and variations thereof owned by Chanel (collectively, the “Marks”), which appear on the Principal Register in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), including:

0626035 CHANEL Class 18: Women’s handbags 1347677 CHANEL Class 18: Leather goods namely, handbags 1733051 CHANEL Class 18: Leather goods namely, handbags, wallets, travel bags, luggage, business and credit card cases, change purses, tote bags, cosmetic bags sold empty, and garment bags for travel 1314511 Cc. Class 18: Leather goods namely, handbags

1734822 Class 18: Leather goods namely, handbags, wallets, travel bags, luggage, business card sees bags sold empty 2 ef” PL ee ECF No. 8 (Declaration of Lora Moffatt, dated March 7, 2023 (“Moffatt Decl.”)) 9] 6-7, Ex. A. 2. For many decades, Chanel has extensively and continuously advertised and promoted the Marks in connection with, inter alia, handbags, small leather goods, shoes, clothing, jewelry, eyewear, accessories, and fragrance and beauty products within the United States. /d. 99 5, 8-11. 3. As aresult, the Marks are well-known throughout the United States and worldwide as products of high quality exclusively originating from Chanel. /d. § 12. 4. Based on the widespread and long-term use of the Marks, the Marks became famous long prior to the acts of Defendants described below and have developed a strong secondary meaning and significance in the minds of the purchasing public. /d. Jj 13, 20. 5. Chanel also owns common law rights in the Marks and in its trade name, Chanel, under which it has long promoted, advertised, offered for sale, and sold its goods in the United States, including in New York. /d. § 14. 6. Over a period of many months in 2022 and 2023, investigators uncovered counterfeiting operations conducted in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan, whereby a network of individuals distribute, offer to sell and sell knockoff products bearing spurious marks owned by various luxury goods companies, including Chanel. ECF No. 9 (Declaration of Stephen G. Ward, dated March 7, 2023 (“Ward Decl.”’)) 9 4—5.

7. Those involved in the counterfeit operations use laminated or digital sell sheets to offer knockoffs of high-end handbags and other luxury products to passersby in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan, often utilizing runners to obtain counterfeit goods from stashes in nearby vehicles once prospective customers express interest in making a purchase. Id. ¶ 6. 8. Pursuant to a seizure order entered in a related action captioned Christian Dior

Couture SA v. Xiaole Lin et al., Case No. 22-cv-10716 (the “Dior Action”), on January 12, 2023, attorneys for Christian Dior, who also represent Chanel in this action, in conjunction with investigators and the New York City Police Department, executed a seizure in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan on numerous Defendants and vehicles bearing New York license plate numbers DSY 8799, DGD 2539, JGA 2395, and KNK 8606 (the “January 12 Seizure”). Id. ¶ 7. 9. The January 12 Seizure uncovered thousands of counterfeit items including, inter alia, 185 knockoff bags and numerous laminated sell sheets bearing the Chanel Marks. Id. ¶ 8. 10. Defendants Huang, Hu, Lu, Wang, Qu, Zhang, and Xie were all present at the January 12 Seizure and each are believed to be involved in the trafficking, offering for sale, and/or

sale of counterfeit products bearing the Marks. Id. ¶ 9. 11. Defendants Lin, Ding, Gao, and Li are also believed to be involved in the counterfeiting operations based on prior investigations. Id. ¶ 10–14. 12. Chanel has examined samples of the products that were discovered during the January 12 Seizure and photographs thereof and determined them to be counterfeit. Moffatt Decl. ¶¶ 21–23, Ex. C. 13. Chanel did not manufacture the counterfeit Chanel products, did not approve such products for sale and/or distribution, and has not authorized Defendants to use the Marks. Id. ¶¶ 21–24, 26. 14. Because the counterfeit products are not subject to Chanel’s strict quality control standards and are manufactured, distributed, and sold without Chanel’s authorization, any further offers for sale, distribution, and/or sales of such products will irreparably harm Chanel, its reputation, and its substantial goodwill in the Marks. Id. ¶¶ 26–28. 15.

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