Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. v. Quality International Packaging, Inc.

403 F. Supp. 2d 288, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29481, 2005 WL 3148066
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 23, 2005
Docket95 Civ. 7900(RLE)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 403 F. Supp. 2d 288 (Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. v. Quality International Packaging, 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
Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. v. Quality International Packaging, Inc., 403 F. Supp. 2d 288, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29481, 2005 WL 3148066 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

ELLIS, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

In its second amended complaint, dated December 8, 1998, plaintiff Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. (“Rocket”) alleged that defendant Quality International Packaging, Inc. (“Quality”), infringed United States design patent number 333,264 (“the ’264 patent”). On March 17, 2004, Rocket filed a motion for a permanent injunction, to set the interest rate on prejudgment interest, and *289 for costs. Quality opposes Rocket’s motion. For the reasons which follow, Rocket’s motion is GRANTED.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Permanent Injunction

By stipulation dated March 29, 1999, the parties agreed to submit all issues in the action to an American Arbitration Association arbitration panel. On January 18, 2000, the parties modified the arbitration agreement, and stipulated that the Court would assess damages. The arbitration panel determined that Rocket’s ’264 patent is valid and enforceable. In pertinent part, the arbitration panel held that,

the Florence and Marseille lines of products (Claimant’s Exhibits 4 and 5, which are reproduced photographically in Claimant’s Exhibits 6 and 7 of the ’264 Exhibit Book, respectively) infringe the ’264 Patent with the exception of those products shown as items G (“Bracelet”), H (“Layout Watch”), and J (“Pearl”) in Claimant’s Exhibits 6 and 7 of the ’264 Exhibit Book.

Award of Arbitrators, attached as Exh. 1 to Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion to Confirm Arbitration Award, dated June 29, 2001. The arbitration panel also held that Quality’s infringement had been willful since February 5, 1999. Id.

The Court may grant injunctive relief to address the violation of Rocket’s patent rights. See Roche Products, Inc. v. Bolar Pharmaceutical Company, 738 F.2d 858 (Fed.Cir.1984). On March 3, 2003, this Court permanently enjoined Quality from infringing the ’264 patent. The Court set forth two formulations of injunctive relief: 1) “[t]he Court orders that Quality be permanently enjoined from marketing the Florence and Marseille lines of jewelry boxes, or any similar such boxes, which infringe Rocket’s ’264 patent,” and 2) “Quality is hereby permanently enjoyed from selling any jewelry boxes similar to those sold under the Florence and Marseille trademark.” Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. v. Quality Intern. Packaging, Inc., 250 F.Supp.2d 333, 339-41 (S.D.N.Y.2003).

Quality appealed this Court’s decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”). On February 12, 2004, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court’s grant of an injunction, but held that injunction order did not comply with Rule 65(d), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. v. Quality Intern. Packaging, Inc., 90 Fed.Appx. 543, 547-48 (Fed.Cir.2004). In pertinent part, the Court stated:

In addition to enjoining Quality from marketing and selling the Florence and Marseille lines of jewelry boxes, the District Court also enjoined Quality from marketing and selling “any similar such boxes” and “any jewelry boxes similar to those sold under the Florence and Marseille trademarks” ... In so doing, however, the District Court neither set forth the reasons for issuing this broad injunction nor specified and described in reasonable detail the parameters for determining the extent of any such “similarity.” Therefore the District Court’s Order does not comply with Rule 65(d).

Id. at 547-48.

“Upon return of its mandate, the District Court cannot give relief beyond the scope of that mandate, but it may act on matters left open by the mandate.” Laitram Corp. v. NEC Corp., 115 F.3d 947 (Fed.Cir.1997). Rocket asks the Court to adopt its proposed injunction order. See Rocket’s Proposed Injunction Order, attached to Rocket’s Mot. as Exh. C. In addition to setting forth the language for a permanent injunction, the proposed order directs Quality to deliver to *290 Rocket within twenty days all jewelry boxes that infringe the ’264 patent, and catalogs which contain illustrations of these jewelry boxes for destruction. Id. The order also directs Quality to file two sworn declarations, one listing the name and address of each customer to whom Quality sold jewelry boxes, and a second setting forth the manner in which it complied with the injunction order. Id.

Quality opposes Rocket’s proposed injunction order, and argues that it includes additional relief the Court did not originally grant. Quality’s Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Rocket’s Motion for a Permanent Injunction (“Quality’s Mem.”) at 18. Quality maintains that this additional relief was “not the subject of a cross appeal to the Federal Circuit.” Id. at 19. It contends that the language in the Court’s original injunction is over broad, and argues that “by including within the scope of its prohibition any ‘similar’ boxes, the Court expanded the breadth of the injunction so as to render it virtually impossible for Quality to ‘design around’ the accused products.” Quality’s Mem. at 18. More specifically, Quality contends that “differences in jewelry boxes are highly discrete and in many instances difficult to discern to the casual observer,” id. at 17, and that “any' number of non-infringing boxes in other lines ... may be construes as ‘similar boxes’ and may arguably fall within the scope of the injunction.” Id. It asserts that “if [it] redesigned its boxes or ‘similar’ boxes, but marketed them under the Florence and Marseilles Trademark, such activity would arguably fall within the prohibition of the injunction.” Id.

In light of the Federal Circuit’s mandate, the Court concludes that Quality’s concerns have merit. The Court will limit the injunction to those elements of the Marseilles and Florence lines which were found by the arbitration panel to have infringed the ’264 patent.

B. Prejudgment Interest

In the March 3, 2003 opinion, the Court awarded Rocket $65,905 as damages for Quality’s willful infringement of the ’264 patent. The Court also awarded Rocket prejudgment interest to be calculated from February 5, 1999. “Prejudgment interest serves to make the patent owner whole, for damages properly include the foregoing use of money of which the patentee was wrongly deprived.” Sensonics, Inc. v. Aerosonic Corp., 81 F.3d 1566, 1574 (Fed.Cir.1996). The Federal Circuit affirmed this Court’s granting of prejudgment interest. See Rocket Jewelry Box, Inc. v. Quality Intern. Packaging, Inc., 90 Fed.Appx. at 547-8.

Rocket has an “arrangement with one of its banks for a line of credit that it can draw upon.” Rocket’s Mot. at 2.

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403 F. Supp. 2d 288, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29481, 2005 WL 3148066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rocket-jewelry-box-inc-v-quality-international-packaging-inc-nysd-2005.