Padded Spaces LLC v. Weiss

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided July 22, 2022·No. 2:21-cv-00751·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

PADDED SPACES LLC, CASE NO. C21-0751JLR Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION v. FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT DAVID WEISS, et al., Defendants.

Before the court is Plaintiff Padded Spaces LLC’s (“Padded Spaces”) motion for entry of default judgment against Defendant Yalong Technology Co. Ltd. (“Yalong”). (Mot. (Dkt. # 20).) Padded Spaces also seeks, as a remedy, the entry of a permanent injunction preventing Yalong from infringing Padded Spaces’s intellectual property rights. (Id. at 11-15.) Yalong has not filed a response to the motion, nor has it otherwise appeared in this action. (See generally Dkt.) The court has reviewed the motion, the relevant portions of the record, and the governing law. Being fully advised, the court GRANTS Padded Spaces’s motion for default judgment and its request for a permanent injunction.

Padded Spaces filed this lawsuit against Defendants David Weiss, Gutbench LLC, Gutbanch Inc., and Yalong (collectively, “Defendants”) on June 8, 2021. (Compl. (Dkt. # 1).) It amended its complaint on August 8, 2021. (Am. Compl. (Dkt. # 5).) On September 16, 2021, Padded Spaces voluntarily dismissed its claims against all of the Defendants except Yalong. (9/16/21 Not. (Dkt. # 8).)

Padded Spaces designs and manufactures products that “enhance[e] consumers’ use of tablets, laptops, and other similar devices.” (Am. Compl. ¶ 13.) One of its most popular products is the Prop ‘n Go Slim lap desk (“Prop ‘n Go Lap Desk”), which “provides a more comfortable way for users to use their tablets, laptops, and other devices.” (Id. ¶ 14.) On December 16, 2014, Padded Spaces obtained U.S. Patent No.

8,910,838 (the “’838 Patent”) for its Prop ‘n Go Lap Desk. (Id. ¶¶ 18-21; see id., Ex. A.) Padded Spaces alleges that Yalong, an entity organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China, is unlawfully selling products that infringe on Padded Spaces’s patent and trade dress in its Prop ‘n Go Slip lap desk (the “Accused Products”) on Amazon.com through the seller accounts “zhanwang” and “gYaron.” 1 (See generally

1 The product description on Amazon.com is “Tablet Pillow Holder for Lap, sproerden Pillow Stand with 14 Adjustable Angels for iPad Pro/iPad Air/iPad Mini, Also Compatible with Amazon Fire Samsung Tab and More Tablets.” (See 7/15/22 Shewmake Decl. (Dkt. # 20-1) ¶ 4, Ex. B (July 6, 2022 screenshot of gYaron’s listing for the Accused Product on Amazon.com); see also Am. Compl., Ex. B at 2 (Amazon.com order details for the Accused Product purchased from gYaron, bearing a similar description).) Am. Compl.) It alleges claims against Yalong for patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271 (id. ¶¶ 41-53); trade dress infringement and false designation of origin under the

Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (id. ¶¶ 54-59); unfair and deceptive trade practices in violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”), RCW 19.86.020 (id. ¶¶ 60-64); common law trade dress infringement (id. ¶¶ 65-68); and common law unfair competition (id. ¶¶69-72). In relevant part, Padded Spaces seeks a permanent injunction to prevent Yalong from continuing to infringe Padded Spaces’s patent and trademark rights. (See id. at 23-24.2)

On May 5, 2022, the court granted Padded Spaces’s motion for alternative service of process after Padded Spaces was unsuccessful in its efforts to serve Yalong in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents (“Hague Convention”). (5/5/22 Order (Dkt. # 14).) Specifically, the Central Authority designated by the People’s Republic of China was

unable to locate Yalong despite searching multiple databases and making inquiries to local officials. (See id. at 3.) The court granted Padded Spaces leave to serve Yalong using the email address associated with the “zhanwang” Amazon seller profile and by message sent to the “gYaron” seller profile through the Amazon.com storefront messaging system. (Id. at 6-8); see Rubies Costume Co. v. Yiwu Hua Hao Toys Co., Ltd.,

No. C18-1530RAJ, 2019 WL 6310564, at *4 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 25, 2019) (authorizing

2 Although Padded Spaces included requests for damages and attorney’s fees in its prayer for relief (see id. at 24), Padded Spaces does not seek monetary relief in its motion for default judgment (see Mot. at 9). service of process on defendants located in China via email and Amazon seller account storefronts). Padded Spaces effected service using these alternative methods on May 10,

2022. (Aff. of Service (Dkt. # 15).) After Yalong did not answer or otherwise defend against the allegations in Padded Spaces’s amended complaint, Padded Spaces moved for default. (Mot. for Default (Dkt. # 16).) The Clerk entered default against Yalong on June 6, 2022. (Entry of Default (Dkt. # 17).) Below, the court analyzes its jurisdiction over this matter and then considers

Padded Spaces’s motion for entry of default judgment and request for a permanent injunction. A. Jurisdiction When considering entry of default judgment, the court must first examine its jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties. See In re Tuli, 172 F.3d 707, 712 (9th

Cir. 1999). The court does so below. 1. Subject Matter Jurisdiction There can be no reasonable dispute that the court has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter. The court has federal question jurisdiction over Padded Spaces’s claims for patent infringement and for trade dress infringement and false designation under the

Lanham Act. 28 U.S.C. § 1331; see also 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a) (“The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under any Act of Congress relating to patents . . . and trademarks.”). It has supplemental jurisdiction over Padded Spaces’s state-law claims for unfair and deceptive trade practices, common law trade dress infringement, and common law unfair competition because those claims are “so related” to the patent, trade dress, and false designation claims as to “form part of the same case

or controversy.” 28 U.S.C. § 1367. 2. Personal Jurisdiction Where no applicable federal statute addresses the issue, a court’s personal jurisdiction analysis begins with the “long-arm” statute of the state in which the court sits. Glencore Grain Rotterdam B.V. v. Shivnath Rai Harnarain Co., 284 F.3d 1114, 1123 (9th Cir. 2002). Washington’s long-arm statute is coextensive with federal due

process requirements. See RCW 4.28.185; see also Downing v. Losvar, 507 P.3d 894, 905-06 (Wash. Ct. App. 2022) (noting that “the Washington Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the state long-arm statute permits jurisdiction over . . . foreign corporations to the extent permitted by the due process clause of the United States Constitution.”). The court must consider “whether the requirements of due process are

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