Judge orders products from Retailers’ Shelves
East Alton, Ill.
The Simmons Hanly Conroy announced today that its client, Monarch Productions, LLC, was awarded a preliminary injunction that forces retailers to remove certain camouflage patterns from their shelves due to a high likelihood of copyright infringement.
Senior Judge E. Richard Webber of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued the ruling May 4 that requires defendants Legendary Whitetails, Zephyr Grafix, A&E Group and Barry Horn to remove “fabric patterns based on, derived from and/or substantially similar to the Mothwing Gameday pattern, including Big Game Camo.”
The Gameday patterns were designed by Monarch, a company that designs and licenses innovative camouflage patterns for every day wear. They combine camouflage patterns with major college sports logos on apparel such as baseball caps.
Preliminary injunctions are awarded before a case goes to trial. This makes them difficult to obtain because the plaintiff must prove that the defendants’ products are a blatant violation of copyright and have caused irreparable harm without the benefits of the discovery phase and/or trials.
“The Simmons Hanly Conroy is pleased we could secure this ruling to assist Monarch in protecting its intellectual property,” said Paul Lesko, head of Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Intellectual Property Department. He went on to credit Simmons IP litigator Jo Anna Pollock for her work on Monarch’s behalf that resulted in the ruling.
Pollock said the ruling recognizes the creativity of Monarch’s products. “Receiving such extraordinary relief in the case’s early stages underscores that Monarch is an innovator in the camouflage industry, and that the intellectual property guards protecting Monarch’s patterns are very strong,” she said.
Monarch filed suit in December 2009 against the defendants for ongoing copyright infringement and will continue to pursue monetary damages and permanent injunctive relief.
