Levi Strauss & Co. v. Toyo Enterprise Co., Ltd.
| Decision Date | 19 October 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. C 07-0245 PJH.,C 07-0245 PJH. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
| Parties | LEVI STRAUSS & CO., Plaintiff, v. TOYO ENTERPRISE CO., LTD., et al., Defendants. |
Gia L. Cincone, Gregory S. Gilchrist, Timothy R. Cahn, Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiff.
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION, AND GRANTING MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT
The court has reviewed Magistrate Judge Maria Elena James' report and recommendation re plaintiff Levi Strauss & Co.'s request for entry of default judgment. Defendants filed no objections to the report. The court finds the report correct, well-reasoned and thorough, and adopts it in every respect. Accordingly, the motion for default judgment is GRANTED on each of plaintiff's claims against defendants.
Defendants Samurai Co., Ltd.; Studio D'Artisan International Co., Ltd.; Full Count Co.; and John Bull Co., Ltd., their agents, employees, attorneys, successors, assigns, affiliates, and joint venturers and any person or persons in active concert or participation with any of them, and/or any person or persons acting for, with, by, through or under any of them are permanently enjoined from:
(a) manufacturing, producing, sourcing, importing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, advertising, or promoting any goods that display any words or symbols that so resemble Plaintiff's trademarks as to be likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception, on or in connection with any product that is not authorized by or for Plaintiff, including without limitation any product that bears Defendants' designs or any other similar approximation of Plaintiff's trademarks;
(b) using any, word, term, name, symbol, device or combination thereof that causes or is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the affiliation or association of the Defendants' or their goods with Plaintiff or as to the origin of the Defendants' goods, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description or representation of fact;
(c) further infringing the rights of Plaintiff in and to any of its trademarks in its LEVI'S® brand products or otherwise damaging Plaintiff's goodwill or business reputation;
(d) otherwise competing unfairly with Plaintiff in any manner; or
(e) continuing to perform in any manner whatsoever any of the other acts complained of in plaintiff's first amended complaint.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION RE PLAINTIFF LEVI STRAUSS & CO.'S REQUEST FOR ENTRY OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT [Dkt. # 47]
Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Levi Strauss & Co.'s Request for Entry of Default Judgment ("the Motion") against Defendants Samurai Co., Ltd.; Studio D'Artisan International Co., Ltd.; Full Count Co.; and John Bull Co., Ltd. (collectively, "Defendants"). (Dkt. # 47.) In its Motion, Plaintiff requests that the Court grant default judgment against Defendants and, further, issue a permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from manufacturing, distributing, or selling any goods that infringe on Plaintiffs trademarks. None of the Defendants has filed an Opposition or otherwise appeared in this action. On February 4, 2009, the presiding judge in this matter, the Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton, issued an order referring the Motion to the undersigned for preparation of a Report and Recommendation. (Dkt. # 48.) On June 11, 2009, the undersigned held a hearing on Plaintiffs Motion. After consideration of Plaintiffs Motion, supporting materials, and oral argument, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that the Court GRANT Plaintiffs Motion and enter default judgment against Defendants on each of Plaintiffs claims. The undersigned further RECOMMENDS that the Court enter a permanent injunction against Defendants consistent with the language set forth herein.
On July 12, 2007, Plaintiff initiated this action by filing a Complaint against eight defendants. (Dkt. # 1.) On July 25, 2007, Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint against eleven named defendants, including the defaulting Defendants. (Dkt. # 16 ("FAC").) The relevant facts, taken from Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint are as follows.
Plaintiff manufactures, markets, and sells a variety of apparel, including denim blue jean products. (FAC ¶ 7.) Plaintiff markets its LEVI'S® brand products with a set of trademarks that are well-known throughout the world. (FAC ¶ 19.) For many years prior to the events giving rise to this case and continuing to the present, Plaintiff has spent great amounts of time, money, and effort advertising and promoting the products on which the trademarks are used, and has sold many millions of these products all over the world, including in the United States and in California. (FAC ¶ 19.) Through this investment and large sales, Plaintiff has created considerable goodwill and a reputation for quality products. (FAC ¶ 19.) Plaintiff has continuously used these trademarks, some for well over a century, to distinguish its products. (FAC ¶ 19.)
Plaintiffs trademarks are federally-registered, in full force and effect, and exclusively owned by Plaintiff. (FAC ¶ 20.) Particularly, Plaintiff owns: (1) the Arcuate Stitching Design Trademark; (2) the Tab Device Trademark; (3) the Shirt Tab Device Trademark; (4) the Housemark Design Trademark; (5) the Two Horse Design and Two Horse Label Design Trademarks; and (6) the 500 Series Trademarks. (FAC ¶¶ 23, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34.)
Plaintiff owns the Arcuate Stitching Design Trademark (the "Arcuate trademark"), which consists of a distinctive pocket stitching design that is the oldest known apparel trademark in the United States. (FAC ¶ 22.) Plaintiff has used the Arcuate trademark continuously since 1873 in interstate commerce on clothing products. (FAC ¶ 22.) It first used the Arcuate trademark on jeans, and later began using it on trousers, pants, shorts, skirts, and jackets. (FAC ¶ 22.) Plaintiff owns the following United States and California Registrations for its Arcuate trademark: (a) U.S. Registration No. 1,139,254; (b) U.S. Registration No. 404,2481 (c) U.S. Registration No. 2,791,156; U.S. (d) Registration No. 2,794,649; and (e) California Registration No. 088399. (FAC ¶ 23 & Ex. B.)
Plaintiff also owns the Tab Device Trademark, which consists of a distinctive marker of textile or other materials sewn into one of the regular structural seams of the garment. (FAC ¶ 24 & Ex. C.) Plaintiff has used the Tab Device trademark continuously since 1936 in interstate commerce on clothing products. (FAC ¶ 24.) Plaintiff owns the following United States Registrations for its Tab Device trademark: (a) U.S. Registration No. 356,701; (b) U.S. Registration No. 516,561; (c) U.S. Registration No. 577,490; (d) U.S. Registration No. 774,625; (e) U.S. Registration No. 775,412; and (f) U.S. Registration No. 1,157,769. (FAC ¶ 26 & Ex. D.) Plaintiff avers that these Registrations have become incontestable under 15 U.S.C. § 1065. (FAC ¶ 26.)
Plaintiff also owns the Shirt Tab Device Trademark, which consists of a distinctive tab affixed to the exterior of a shirt pocket. (FAC ¶ 27.) Plaintiff has used the mark in interstate commerce continuously since 1969. (FAC ¶ 27.) Plaintiff owns the following United States and California Registrations for the Shirt Tab Device: (a) U.S. Registration No. 2,726,253; and (b) California Registration No. 052312. (FAC ¶ 28 & Ex. F.)
Additionally, Plaintiff owns the Housemark Design Trademark ("Housemark trademark"), a distinctive logo originally adopted to identify genuine LEVI'S® products, first used in 1966. (FAC ¶ 29 & Ex. H.) Plaintiff owns the following United States Registrations for the Housemark Design: (a) U.S. Registration 849,437; (b) U.S. Registration No. 1,135,196; (c) U.S. Registration No. 1,041,846; (d) U.S. Registration No. 1,122,468; and (e) U.S. Registration No. 1,155,926. (FAC ¶ 30 & Ex. H.) Plaintiff alleges the Housemark trademark is incontestable under 15 U.S.C. § 1065. (FAC ¶ 30.)
Plaintiff also owns the Two Horse Design and Two Horse Label Design Trademarks ("Two Horse trademarks"), which were also adopted to identify genuine LEVI'S® products, first used in 1866. (FAC ¶ 31 & Ex. I.) Plaintiff owns the following United States Registrations for the Two Horse Trademarks: (a) U.S. Registration 523,665; and (b) 1,140,853. (FAC ¶ 32 & Ex. J.) Plaintiff alleges the Two Horse trademarks are incontestable under 15 U.S.C. § 1065. (FAC ¶ 32.)
Finally, Plaintiff owns the 500 Series trademarks. The marks consist of three digit numbers beginning with the number "5" (e.g. 501®, 505®, 517®, and 569®). (FAC ¶ 33 & Ex. K.) Plaintiff owns the following United State Registrations for the 501 Series trademarks: (a) U.S. Registration No. 1,552,985; (b) U.S. Registration No. 1,313,554; (c) U.S. Registration No. 1,319,462; and (d) U.S. Registration No. 2,503,976. (FAC ¶ 34 & Ex. L.) Plaintiff alleges the 501®, 505®, and 517® trademarks are incontestable under 15 U.S.C. § 1065. (FAC ¶ 34.)
Defendants Samurai, Studio D'Artisan, Full Count, and John Bull are all Japanese business entities. (FAC ¶¶ 9, 10, 13, 14.) According to Plaintiff, each of the Defendants manufactured, offered for sale, advertised, and sold jean and other garments that imitate a number of trademarks Plaintiff has used for many years to identify its LEVI'S® brand products around the world. (FAC, ¶¶ 9, 10, 13, 14 & Exs. N, O, R, S.) Defendants have sold their clothing through authorized retailers in San Francisco and New York, and through their own websites over the Internet. (Dkt. # 66 ¶¶ 2-6.) Plaintiff alleges Defendants' manufacturing, sourcing, marketing, and selling have caused and continue to cause actual consumer confusion resulting in irreparable harm to Plaintiff. (FAC ¶¶ 37, 39, 45, 47, 57, 58.)
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