Source: https://www.loeb.com/en/insights/publications/2008/01/k--n-engineering-inc-v-bulat-et-al-usca-ninth-ci__
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 03:54:36+00:00

Document:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an award of statutory damages for trademark counterfeiting under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c) precludes an award of attorney’s fees under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(b).
The plaintiff, an aftermarket auto parts manufacturer, sued the defendants for selling decals bearing the plaintiff’s logo. The plaintiff sued for trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C §§ 1114(1) and 1125(a); trademark counterfeiting under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)(a); trademark dilution under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c); and related state law statutory and common law causes of action. The plaintiff also elected to seek statutory damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c). The district court granted the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion on all claims and awarded the plaintiff statutory damages of $20,000 and attorney’s fees of $100,000.
On appeal, the defendants argued that the plaintiff’s election to receive statutory damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c) precludes an award of attorney’s fees under § 1117(b).
The appeals court noted that section 1117(c) makes no provision for attorney’s fees; nor does § 1117(b) authorize such fees for a plaintiff seeking statutory damages under § 1117(c). “Section 1117(b)’s attorney’s fees provision applies only in cases with actual damages under § 1117(a). In this case, K&N elected to recover statutory damages under § 1117(c). Because of K&N’s election, the court did not assess or award K&N actual damages or profits under § 1117(a). Therefore, there is no statutory basis to award K&N attorney’s fees under § 1117(b).” The court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the trademark infringement, counterfeiting and dilution claims and the award of statutory damages in the amount of $20,000 but reversed the award of attorney’s fees.

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