H-D U.S.A., LLC v. SunFrog, LLC

311 F. Supp. 3d 1000
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedApril 12, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–CV–711–JPS
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 311 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (H-D U.S.A., LLC v. SunFrog, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
H-D U.S.A., LLC v. SunFrog, LLC, 311 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (E.D. Wis. 2018).

Opinion

J. P. Stadtmueller, U.S. District Judge

This is a trademark and copyright infringement case brought by Plaintiffs, collectively referred to as "Harley-Davidson," against Defendants, collectively referred to as "SunFrog." SunFrog runs a website where third parties can upload designs and logos, place them onto clothing, hats, mugs, or other items, and sell them. SunFrog handles printing the goods and shipping them, and it takes the majority of the profits from the sales. Harley-Davidson noticed that SunFrog advertised and sold many items bearing its trademarks, including both word-marks and logos, and it filed this lawsuit as a result. Before the Court is Harley-Davidson's motion for partial summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, it will largely be granted.

1. LEGAL STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 provides that the court "shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any *1010material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; Boss v. Castro , 816 F.3d 910, 916 (7th Cir. 2016). A fact is "material" if it "might affect the outcome of the suit" under the applicable substantive law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute of fact is "genuine" if "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id.

The court construes all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-movant. Bridge v. New Holland Logansport, Inc. , 815 F.3d 356, 360 (7th Cir. 2016). The court must not weigh the evidence presented or determine credibility of witnesses; the Seventh Circuit instructs that "we leave those tasks to factfinders." Berry v. Chicago Transit Auth. , 618 F.3d 688, 691 (7th Cir. 2010). The party opposing summary judgment "need not match the movant witness for witness, nor persuade the court that [its] case is convincing, [it] need only come forward with appropriate evidence demonstrating that there is a pending dispute of material fact." Waldridge v. Am. Hoechst Corp. , 24 F.3d 918, 921 (7th Cir. 1994).

To meet its burden, the non-movant "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co, Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "It is well-settled that speculation may not be used to manufacture a genuine issue of fact." Amadio v. Ford Motor Co. , 238 F.3d 919, 927 (7th Cir. 2001) ; McDonald v. Vill. of Winnetka , 371 F.3d 992, 1001 (7th Cir. 2004) ; Palucki v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. , 879 F.2d 1568, 1572 (7th Cir. 1989) ("A party to a lawsuit cannot ward off summary judgment with an affidavit or deposition based on rumor or conjecture" but must instead rest on the witness' personal knowledge). The Seventh Circuit has repeatedly emphasized that summary judgment "is the put up or shut up moment in a lawsuit, when a party must show what evidence it has that would convince a trier of fact to accept its version of the events." Hammel v. Eau Galle Cheese Factory , 407 F.3d 852, 859 (7th Cir. 2005).

2. RELEVANT FACTS

2.1 Harley-Davidson and Its Marks

Harley-Davidson is the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the United States and has long been one of the world's most recognized motorcycle companies. For more than 110 years, it has continuously manufactured, promoted, and sold motorcycles and related products.1

*1011Harley-Davidson owns several marks relevant to this litigation. They include the word marks HARLEY-DAVIDSON, HARLEY, H-D, HD, FAT BOY, and SPORTSTER, as well as Harley-Davidson's Bar & Shield logo, Willie G. Skull logo, and Number 1 logo trademarks shown below.

Harley-Davidson has used each of these marks, which will be referred to collectively as the "H-D Marks," for many years in connection with motorcycles, motorcycle parts and accessories, and various other products and services, including apparel, mugs, and posters. The H-D Marks are part of premium brands and Harley-Davidson has a reputation for providing a wide variety of high-quality merchandise under those brands itself and through its dealers and licensees.2

Given the incredible commercial success of Harley-Davidson's motorcycle business over the years and its status as an iconic brand, there has long been a strong demand from motorcycle enthusiasts as well as the general public for other products bearing the H-D Marks, so they can show their affinity for Harley-Davidson. To satisfy this demand and to further build awareness of the H-D Marks, Harley-Davidson has for decades engaged in an extensive program of licensing the H-D Marks for use on a wide range of products, including apparel, mugs, and posters, among others.

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Bluebook (online)
311 F. Supp. 3d 1000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/h-d-usa-llc-v-sunfrog-llc-wied-2018.