The Pinkfong Company, Inc. v. ADS-SS

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 2, 2023
Docket1:23-cv-03793
StatusUnknown

This text of The Pinkfong Company, Inc. v. ADS-SS (The Pinkfong Company, Inc. v. ADS-SS) 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
The Pinkfong Company, Inc. v. ADS-SS, (S.D.N.Y. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK --------------------------------------------------------------------- X THE PINKFONG COMPANY, INC., : Plaintiff, : : -against- : : : ADS-SS, AGQT DIRECT, ALIGHT PRODUCT, : AONIMOWUJINDIAN US, BALLIZAO, BAOKKE, : BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND, BLOSSM, BOLMQHTS, : CSNSD, DHEKAEI, ESTARPRO, EVERGREEN : FOR YOU, GZJF-US-US, : HAIKOUWURUNXIAOSHOUYOUXIANGONGSI1, : 23 Civ. 3793 (LGS) HFCKMYYXGS, JICHANGZHOUXIANSUI, : LEYUAN STORE, LIZHENMENGD, : ORDER LKJHGFDGFJJGFJ, MYRISAM, SATISFYING : PARTY US, SLOZVNEG, SZSLPKJ007, TENGYI : DIRECT, TIHUPRLY, WSSERD-US, XIAO WEN : GIFT, YAMATCH®, YANQIU US, YANXIN123, : YOUCWC, ZHANG ZHEN JIN COMMUNICATION : EQUIPMENT STORED, : ZHANGJIEHAOMAOYIYOUXIANZERENGONGSI, : ZHENRONG BAIHUO, ZUZU BOOM AND 佛山市 : 万飞翔商贸有限公司 A/K/A FOSHAN : WANFEIXIANG TRADING CO., LTD., : Defendants. : --------------------------------------------------------------------- X

WHEREAS, Plaintiff The Pinkfong Company, Inc. brings by way of Order to Show Cause an application for entry of a Preliminary Injunction against Defendants. WHEREAS, on May 31, 2023, a conference was held regarding Plaintiff’s application for a preliminary injunction. No Defendants appeared. WHEREAS, the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants because Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction under CPLR § 302(a)(1), and exercising personal jurisdiction over Defendants comports with the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. See Edwardo v. Roman Cath. Bishop of Providence, 66 F.4th 69, 73 (2d Cir. 2023) (“To determine whether jurisdiction exists over a non-domiciliary, we first consider whether the state’s long-arm statute provides a statutory basis for jurisdiction and, if so, whether exercising personal jurisdiction would comport with due process.”). WHEREAS, Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction, as the New York long-arm statute provides a statutory basis for jurisdiction through its “transacting business” provision.

See CPLR § 302(a)(1). “The CPLR 302(a)(1) jurisdictional inquiry is twofold: under the first prong the defendant must have conducted sufficient activities to have transacted business in the state, and under the second prong, the claims must arise from the transactions.” Al Rushaid v. Pictet & Cie, 68 N.E.3d 1, 7 (N.Y. 2016). Under the first prong, “[e]xamination of a defendant’s actions in New York is primarily a fact-based inquiry that requires an assessment of whether the non-domiciliary’s activities in the state were purposeful.” State v. Vayu, Inc., 206 N.E.3d 1236, 1238 (N.Y. 2023).1 “Purposeful activities, this Court has explained, are volitional acts by which the non-domiciliary avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws.” Id. To satisfy the second

prong, “the plaintiff’s cause of action must have an articulable nexus or substantial relationship with the defendant’s transaction of business here.” D & R Glob. Selections, S.L. v. Bodega Olegario Falcon Pineiro, 78 N.E.3d 1172, 1176 (N.Y. 2017). Here, Defendants operate interactive merchant storefronts on Amazon.com, allowing New York consumers to inquire and communicate with Defendants and purchase goods, including counterfeit versions of Plaintiff’s Baby Shark products (“Counterfeit Products”), by and through Defendants’ listings, and upon completion of a sale, likely ship goods to New York. Plaintiff’s causes of action alleging

1 Unless otherwise indicated, in quoting cases, all internal quotation marks, alterations, emphases, footnotes and citations are omitted. trademark counterfeiting, infringement of registered trademarks, infringement of unregistered trademarks, false designation of origin, copyright infringement and unfair competition have an “articulable nexus” with Defendants’ transaction of business in New York, as Plaintiff alleges the Counterfeit Products infringe on its trademarks and copyrights. See id. WHEREAS, exercising personal jurisdiction over Defendants comports with the Due

Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. “In the context of personal jurisdiction, due process demands that each defendant over whom a court exercises jurisdiction have some minimum contacts with the forum such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” In re Platinum & Palladium Antitrust Litig., 61 F.4th 242, 269 (2d Cir. 2023). “This inquiry usually proceeds in two steps -- an analysis of whether each defendant has minimum contacts with the forum state, and an analysis of whether exercising jurisdiction would comport with fair play and substantial justice.” Id. Plaintiff has shown “minimum contacts” because Defendants “deliberately chose” to sell its products in New York and thereby benefit from profits earned through New York customers. See Licci ex rel. Licci v.

Lebanese Canadian Bank, SAL, 732 F.3d 161, 171 (2d Cir. 2013) (finding minimum contacts where defendant “deliberately chose” to process wire transfers using New York’s banking system, the “instrument for accomplishing the alleged wrongs for which the plaintiffs seek redress”). Exercising jurisdiction here would also “comport with fair play and substantial justice.” See In re Platinum & Palladium Antitrust Litig., 61 F.4th at 269. Because Defendants’ products are available to be sold, and are likely sold in New York, the forum has an interest in the resolution of the dispute. See id. at 273-74 (finding district court’s assertion of personal jurisdiction over two international companies reasonable under the second step of the due process inquiry). WHEREAS, “[t]o obtain a preliminary injunction, [a plaintiff] must show (1) a likelihood of success on the merits or sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation and a balance of hardships tipping decidedly in the plaintiff’s favor, (2) that they are likely to suffer irreparable injury in the absence of an injunction, (3) that the balance of hardships tips in [its] favor, and (4) that the public interest would not be disserved by the

issuance of a preliminary injunction.” Mendez v. Banks, 65 F.4th 56, 63-64 (2d Cir. 2023). WHEREAS, Plaintiff has established a likelihood of success on the merits. “To establish a claim of copyright infringement, two elements must be proven: (1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original. To satisfy the second element, a plaintiff must demonstrate that: (1) the defendant has actually copied the plaintiff’s work; and (2) the copying is illegal because a substantial similarity exists between the defendant’s work and the protectible elements of plaintiff’s work.” Abdin v. CBS Broad. Inc., 971 F.3d 57, 66 (2d Cir. 2020). Plaintiff offers evidence it owns valid copyright registrations. Plaintiff also offers evidence of Defendants’ allegedly infringing products, which look

substantially similar to Plaintiff’s products and are sold without Plaintiff’s consent. WHEREAS, Plaintiff has sufficiently shown it is likely to suffer irreparable harm because there is a similarity between the products, and there is injury to Plaintiff’s business, value, goodwill and reputation, if the offending products continue to be sold.

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Related

Rasheed Al Rushaid v. Pictet & Cie
68 N.E.3d 1 (New York Court of Appeals, 2016)
D&R Global Selections, S.L. v. Bodega Olegario Falcon Pineiro
78 N.E.3d 1172 (New York Court of Appeals, 2017)
Anas Osama Ibrahim Abdin v. CBS Broadcasting Inc.
971 F.3d 57 (Second Circuit, 2020)
Licci v. Lebanese Canadian Bank SAL
732 F.3d 161 (Second Circuit, 2013)
Mendez v. Banks
65 F.4th 56 (Second Circuit, 2023)
Philip Edwardo v. the Roman Catholic Bishop
66 F.4th 69 (Second Circuit, 2023)

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Bluebook (online)
The Pinkfong Company, Inc. v. ADS-SS, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-pinkfong-company-inc-v-ads-ss-nysd-2023.