A blog about patent, copyright and trademark law in the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York

Pre-Discovery Dismissal of Willfulness Claim in Trademark Action Denied

In a June 13, 2013 ruling, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein denied a defendant’s pre-discovery motion for summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s claim for profits in a trademark infringement action. The defendant argued that recovery requires a finding of willfulness, for which there are no facts in this case. Judge Hellerstein ruled that “it would not take [the plaintiff] 14 pages to explain their position,” if there were truly an absence of willfulness facts, and denied the motion as premature. The Court also denied bifurcation of the liability and damages issues, finding that “bifurcation at this point will tend to add proceedings, motions and arguments.”
The general information and thoughts posted to this blog are provided only as an informational service to the web community and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. Nothing on this blog is intended to create an attorney-client relationship and nothing posted constitutes legal advice. You should understand that the posts by the author, who is an attorney at U.S. law firm Allegaert, Berger & Vogel, may or may not reflect the views of that firm and that the author of this blog is only authorized to practice law in the jurisdictions in which he is properly licensed to do so. For additional information, click here.