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

Court Adopts Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation of Statutory Damages and Attorneys’ Fees after Default in Trademark Infringement Action

In an April 3, 2014 ruling, Judge George B. Daniels adopted Magistrate Judge Peck’s Report and Recommendation after an inquest awarding $1 million in statutory damages and approximately $10,000 in attorneys’ fees against the defendants who defaulted in the plaintiff’s trademark infringement action. Judge Daniels approved Judge Peck’s conclusion deeming the infringement willful in light of the default. Since the maximum statutory damages award under the Lanham Act is $2 million, the Court adopted Judge Peck’s conclusion that “an award of $1 million – half of the statutory maximum – is sufficient and appropriate in this case.” With regard to attorneys’ fees, Judge Daniels adopted Judge Peck’s conclusion that “the allegations in the complaint, along with Defendants’ default, are sufficient to justify the award of attorneys’ fees to Plaintiff,” and approved the reduction of 15% that Judge Peck made to the amount of fees the plaintiff sought.
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