Talent Mobile Dev., Inc. v. Headios Grp.

382 F. Supp. 3d 953
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedFebruary 6, 2019
DocketCase No. CV 18-0156-DOC (DFMx)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 382 F. Supp. 3d 953 (Talent Mobile Dev., Inc. v. Headios Grp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Talent Mobile Dev., Inc. v. Headios Grp., 382 F. Supp. 3d 953 (C.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

THE HONORABLE DAVID O. CARTER, JUDGE

This trademark action proceeded to a jury trial and resulted in a verdict in favor of Plaintiff. Before the Court are several post-trial motions by both parties in this matter: Plaintiff Talent Mobile Development, Inc.'s ("Talent Mobile" or "Plaintiff") Motion for Attorneys' Fees (Dkt. 181) and Motion for Permanent Injunction (Dkt. 190); and Defendants Headios Group ("Headios"), Bassam Istambouli ("Istambouli"), and Waleed Shaker's ("Shaker," and collectively, "Defendants") Motion for New Trial or to Amend Judgment (Dkt. 194) and Motion for Relief from Judgment (Dkt. 197). The Court held a hearing on these matters on December 6, 2018. Having reviewed the moving papers and the evidentiary record, and considered the parties' arguments, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorneys' Fees; GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for a Permanent Injunction; and DENIES Defendants' motions.

I. Background

Plaintiff and Defendants both market caller identification applications for smartphones. Plaintiff's application has always been named "Real Caller," and Defendant's application was originally called "Real Caller," but was renamed "Reel Caller." Plaintiff sued Defendant for trademark infringement and cybersquatting. This dispute first came before this Court in Talent Mobile Development, Inc. v. Headios Group et al. ("Talent I "), case number SA CV 16-0464-DOC. Plaintiff filed the Complaint in that case on March 9, 2016. On September 3, 2017, Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on all claims (16-0464, Dkt. 27). The Court ruled on Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on October 3, 2017 ("MSJ Order") (16-0464, Dkt. 49). The Court summarized the facts as follows, based on the parties' briefing and supporting evidence. The summary provides useful background before discussing the July 2018 trial.1

*958Talent and Headios both market caller ID applications for smartphones. Opposition Separate Statement of Uncontroverted Facts ("Def. SUF") (Dkt. 36) No. 1, Nos. 13-14; MSJ at 4; Opposition to Summary Judgment ("Opp'n") (Dkt. 35) at 21. Talent's application has always been named "Real Caller," and Headios's application was originally called "Real Caller," but has since been renamed "Reel Caller." Def. SUF Nos. 1-3; Opp'n at 12-13. Talent sued Defendants, including Headios, for trademark infringement and cybersquatting, and the parties dispute who first used the mark "Real Caller." Complaint ("Compl.") (Dkt. 1) ¶¶ 23-45; Def. SUF No. 20; MSJ at 4; Opp'n at 7.
In 2010, the predecessors in interest to Talent Mobile Development created a smartphone app "designed for use as a global phone directory that allows its user to know the name of the party calling the user." MSJ at 4; Declaration of Hassan El Rawasse ("Rawasse Decl.") (Dkt. 29) ¶¶ 1-3...
On October 10, 2013, Talent created the domain name real-caller.com. Rawasse Decl. ¶ 26, Ex. 5 ... Talent also owns registered trademarks 4,613,102 (the Real Caller Logo, registered Sept. 30, 2014) and 4,671,180 (the non-stylized characters, registered Jan. 13, 2015). Def. SUF Nos. 4-6; Rawasse Decl. Exs. 1-2. Registration No. 4,613,102 lists the Real Caller Logo's first use in commerce as Oct. 1, 2013. Rawasse Decl. Ex. 1. Registration No. 4,671,180 lists the non-stylized mark's first use in commerce as Oct. 1, 2011. Id. Ex. 2.
Defendant Georges Obeid ("Obeid"), a citizen of Lebanon, founded a foreign corporate entity named 3akarat.net, which developed the software application "Real Caller," id. , and published it on the Google Play Store in February 2013. Opp'n at 8, 13; Declaration of Waleed Shaker ("Shaker Decl.") (Dkt. 40) ¶ 6. In April 2013, 3akarat.net published the Real Caller App on the Apple App Store. Declaration of Bassam Istanbuli ("Istanbuli Decl.") (Dkt. 38) ¶ 6. Talent subsequently complained to Apple and Google about the sale of the similarly-named caller ID app. Def. SUF No. 3; MSJ at 4. After Apple and Google sent Obeid infringement notifications, Obeid changed the name of the application to "Reel Caller." Def. SUF No. 3, MSJ at 4; Opp'n at 12-13. Defendants concede that "Reel Caller" sounds identical to "Real Caller." Def. SUF No. 11.
In January 2016, the rights to the Reel Caller app were assigned to Headios Group. Opp'n at 9. On February 4, 2016, Headios filed a Cancellation Petition before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board challenging Talent's "Real Caller" mark. Id. at 10. Shortly thereafter, Talent filed this lawsuit.

MSJ Order at 1-2. On January 24, 2018, Plaintiff filed the Complaint in the instant case ("Talent II "). In the Complaint, Plaintiff again brought three claims: (1) trademark infringement in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), (2) trademark infringement in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1114, and (3) cybersquatting in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d). Compl. (Dkt. 1) ¶¶ 37-59.

The parties proceeded to trial on July 17, 18, 19, and 20, 2018. On the first day of trial, Plaintiff admitted Exhibit 89, a document that was produced by Apple pursuant to a subpoena. Trial tr. vol. 1, 7-8 July 17, 2018. This document provides the iTunes App Store billings and royalties in the United States, beginning on September 29, 2013. Tr. Ex. 89. The document shows the application Reel Caller was introduced on December 20, 2013, as part of the content provider name 3akarat.net. Trial tr. vol. 2, 55-57 July 18, 2018; Tr. Ex. 89. Plaintiff also admitted Trial Exhibit 90, which was produced by Google pursuant to *959a subpoena, and provides estimated earnings from May 2014 through June 2017. Tr. Ex. 90. Shaker testified that Defendants were making $ 1,000.00 in daily revenue, which he later increased to between $ 1,000.00 and $ 1,500.00 per day. Trial tr. vol. 1, 6 July 18, 2018. Shaker testified that in 2015 the daily revenue was approximately the same. Id And in 2016 and 2017, the daily revenue "did not change much."

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
382 F. Supp. 3d 953, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/talent-mobile-dev-inc-v-headios-grp-cacd-2019.