Trademark Owner Need Not Prove Willfulness To Obtain Defendant’s Profits

On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Romag Fasteners v. Fossil, Inc. (decision available here). The Court found that a plaintiff can obtain the defendant’s profits even without showing that defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff’s trademark. Despite this, the Supreme Court noted that a defendant’s state of mind “may have a bearing on what relief a plaintiff should receive.”

In Romig, the jury found that Fossil had acted “in callous disregard” of Romig’s rights, but refused to find that Fossil had acted “willfully.” Controlling Second Circuit authority required the plaintiff to prove willful trademark infringement to recover the profits defendant had earned due to its trademark infringement. The Supreme Court took the case to resolve a conflict among the circuits and reversed.

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