EAST ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn granted a preliminary injunction on May 30 against alleged counterfeiters who make and sell merchandise of British band Jarimoquai.
He found sufficient evidence that counterfeiters infringed on at least one trademark that band leader Jason Kay registered with the U.S. patent and trademark office.
Magistrate Judge Reona Daly had recommended an injunction at a hearing on May 12.
“Defendants profit from counterfeit products while retaining the ability to quickly vanish and leave no trace of their true identities or information sufficient for Plaintiff to seek damages from them through traditional legal remedies,” she wrote.
Javier Sobrado of Miami filed Kay’s suit in December, identifying defendants only by their internet identification codes.
He claimed they reproduced, promoted, offered for sale, sold, and distributed goods using counterfeits and confusingly similar imitations of Kay’s trademarks.
He claimed they eroded Kay’s good will and destroyed a legitimate market.
Jason Kay performs as Jay Kay with Jamiroquai, a band he formed in 1992.
The court clerk assigned Daly, whose jurisdiction as a magistrate requires consent of the parties.
Sobrado moved for a restraining order and a preliminary injunction and sealed the motions.
Daly ordered him to show cause for sealing.
He claimed most defendants would default, accept their lost accounts and funds as a cost of doing business, and go on to start stores with the same third party platforms.
He claimed a single entity settled on behalf of 80 defendants in a recent case he filed.
He claimed a cottage industry of third parties work with counterfeiters to facilitate evasion.
“One such third party is an entity doing business as Sellerdefense, a Chinese organization that monitors counterfeit enforcement lawsuits in federal courts,” he wrote.
Sobrado claimed that when Sellerdefense observes a trademark holder filing a lawsuit, they announce it on their website and post all pleadings.
He claimed Sellerdefense recommends that sellers liquidate their financial accounts and change their current payment processors.
He added that Sellerdefense helps counterfeiters in litigation to find defense attorneys.
Sobrado stated he’d move to unseal documents once a restraining order was served on relevant parties and the requested actions were taken.
Daly kept the documents under seal.
In April, she found Kay would likely suffer immediate and irreparable injury without a restraining order.
“The court can reasonably expect that more counterfeit and infringing products bearing Plaintiff’s trademarks will appear in the marketplace,” she wrote.
Daly found Kay might lose sales for genuine products and might suffer unnatural erosion of the legitimate marketplace in which he operates.
She predicted defendants would modify the content of stores, change payment accounts, direct traffic to other names, or transfer assets.
However, Daly couldn’t issue an order because she needed consent from all parties and no defendant had even answered the suit.
The court clerk assigned McGlynn, who adopted Daly’s recommendation on sealing the filings.
Sobrado appeared before Daly on May 12, and Daly recommended an injunction.
She found Kay established that consumers were likely confused and the products the defendants sold and promoted were copies of his products bearing the band’s mark.
She found products were designated to be shipped to an address in the Southern District.
“Certain financial institutions, payment processors, banks, escrow services, money transmitters, or marketplace platforms are acting in concert with Defendants by providing money transfer services or escrow accounts for the defendants,” she wrote.
“Those services and accounts allow Defendants to continue their distribution and sales of products bearing counterfeits and infringements of the Jamiroquai Marks,” she added.
Daly found Kay could recover illegal profits as an equitable remedy.
She filed a supplement that McGlynn adopted as an order, restraining each defendant and all persons in contact or participation with defendants.
He prohibited manufacturing, importing, advertising, promoting, selling, distributing, or transferring products bearing Jarimoqua marks or similar marks.
He prohibited concealing or destroying products bearing the band’s marks or similar marks.
He prohibited concealing or destroying evidence relating to manufacture, importation, distribution, or transfer of products.
He also prohibited concealing or destroying assets and accounts.
McGlynn gave defendants and third parties acting in concert with them five days to comply.
He found third parties included Ali Express, Alipay, Dhgate, Dhpay, Joom, EWish, Wishpay, Amazon, Amazon Pay, Ebay, Etsy, Taobao, and their affiliates.