In a December 17, 2013 ruling, Judge Richard J. Sullivan entered judgment against defendant Asiarim Corporation after a bench trial in favor of plaintiff C=Holdings B.V. on its claim, among others, for trademark infringement of the "Commodore" marks for computers that were popular in the 1980's. The principal dispute at trial was the ownership of C=Holdings, which had been a subsidiary of Asiarim until a claimed spin-off. There was no dispute at trial that C=Holdings owned the registrations for the Commodore marks, and that another subsidiary of Asiarim had previously been licensed to use the marks. Judge Sullivan began the analysis of the trademark infringement claim by noting that "when a plaintiff sues for infringement of its registered mark, the defendant bears the burden of production and persuasion to rebut the presumption of ownership" of the mark provided by the registration. Judge Sullivan rejected defendant Asiarim's contention that it was the owner of the mark, in fact ruling that Asiarim's attempt to claim ownership was fraudulent. Thus, the Court concluded "that C=Holdings owns the Commodore trademarks, and that any unsanctioned use by Asiarim would amount to an infringement."
