United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 07-1186
VENTURE TAPE CORPORATION,
Plaintiff, Appellee,
v.
MCGILLS GLASS WAREHOUSE; DON GALLAGHER,
Defendants, Appellants.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Morris E. Lasker, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Lynch, Chief Judge,
Torruella and Lipez, Circuit Judges.
Christopher J. Cunio, with whom Jaimie A. McKean and Cooley
Manion Jones LLP were on brief, for appellee.
Chloris DeBrauwere for appellants.
August 28, 2008
LIPEZ, Circuit Judge. McGills Glass Warehouse
("McGills"), an internet-based retailer of stained-glass supplies,
and its owner Donald Gallagher, appeal from a district court
judgment finding them liable for infringement of the registered
trademarks "Venture Tape" and "Venture Foil," and awarding the
marks' owner, Venture Tape Corporation ("Venture"), an equitable
share of McGills’ profits, as well as costs and attorney’s fees.
We affirm.
I.
In 1990, Venture, a manufacturer of specialty adhesive
tapes and foils used in the stained-glass industry, procured two
federal trademark registrations (Nos. 1,579,001 and 1,583,644) for
products called “Venture Tape” and “Venture Foil,” respectively.
Over the next fifteen years, Venture expended hundreds of thousands
of dollars to promote the two marks in both print and internet
advertising. Consequently, its products gained considerable
popularity, prestige, and good will in the world-wide stained glass
market.
Through its internet website, McGills also sells adhesive
tapes and foils which directly compete with “Venture Tape” and
“Venture Foil.” Beginning in 2000, and without obtaining Venture's
permission or paying it any compensation, McGills' owner Donald
Gallagher intentionally “embedded” the Venture marks in the McGills
website, both by including the marks in the website’s metatags - a
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component of a webpage's programming that contains descriptive
information about the webpage which is typically not observed when
the webpage is displayed in a web browser - and in white lettering
on a white background screen, similarly invisible to persons
viewing the webpage. Gallagher, fully aware that the McGills
website did not sell these two Venture products, admittedly took
these actions because he had heard that Venture's marks would
attract people using internet search engines to the McGills
website.
Because the marks were hidden from view, Venture did not
discover McGills' unauthorized use of its marks until 2003. It
then promptly filed suit against McGills and Gallagher in federal
district court, alleging federal trademark infringement, Lanham Act
§ 32, 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1) (Count 1),1 unfair competition, id. §
43(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (Count 2), false designation of origin,
1
Lanham Act § 32 provides, in pertinent part:
Any person who shall, without the consent of the
registrant - use in commerce any reproduction,
counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered
mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale,
distribution, or advertising of any goods or services on
or in connection with which such use is likely to cause
confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive - shall be
liable in a civil action by the registrant for the
remedies hereinafter provided.
15 U.S.C. § 1114(1).
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id. (Count 3),2 and trademark dilution, Mass. Gen. Laws. Ann. ch.
110B, § 12 (Count 4).3 After conducting lengthy discovery, the
parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on all four counts
of the complaint. The district court conducted a motion hearing,
granted summary judgment for Venture on all counts, and requested
that Venture submit a motion itemizing any damages, costs, and
attorney's fees attributable to McGills' trademark infringement,
all of which are potentially recoverable under the Lanham Act. See
Lanham Act § 35, 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).
2
Lanham Act § 43(a) provides, in pertinent part:
Any person who . . . uses in commerce any word, term,
name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or
any false designation of origin, false or misleading
description of fact, or false or misleading
representation of fact, which - is likely to cause
confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the
affiliation, connection, or association of such person
with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or
approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial
activities by another person - . . . shall be liable in
a civil action by any person who believes that he or she
is or is likely to be damaged by such act.
15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
3
The state statute, since repealed, provided in pertinent
part:
Likelihood of injury to business reputation or of
dilution of the distinctive quality of a mark registered
under this chapter, or a mark valid at common law, or a
trade name valid at common law, shall be a ground for
injunctive relief notwithstanding the absence of
competition between the parties or the absence of
confusion as to the source of goods or services.
Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 110B, § 12 (repealed 2006).
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Although Venture adduced evidence that McGills generated
almost $1.9 million in gross sales during the period of its
infringement from 2000-2003, Venture eventually requested only
$230,339.17, the amount that it estimated to be McGills' net
profits. Citing McGills' willful infringement and alleging McGills
engaged in obstructionist discovery tactics, Venture sought
$188,583.06 in attorney's fees and $7,564.75 in costs. After a
hearing on Venture's motion, the district court granted Venture's
requested recovery. McGills and Gallagher now appeal from the
district court's grant of summary judgment to Venture on Lanham Act
liability, and from the district court's award of profits and
attorney's fees.
II.
A. Lanham Act Liability
McGills first contends that the district court
improvidently granted summary judgment for Venture on appellees'
liability under the Lanham Act.4 Summary judgment is appropriate
"if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file,
and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any
material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a
4
The Lanham Act and the state trademark dilution statute
impose comparable standards of liability, see Mass. Gen. Laws Ann.
ch. 110B, § 12 ("likelihood of injury to business reputation"). On
appeal, McGills does not address the grant of summary judgment to
Venture on Count 4, the state trademark dilution claim. Hence we
do not address it either.
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matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); see also Boston Athletic
Ass'n v. Sullivan, 867 F.2d 22, 24 (1st Cir. 1989). We review the
district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Colt Def. LLC
v. Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., 486 F.3d 701, 705 (1st Cir. 2007).
"The purpose of a trademark is to identify and
distinguish the goods of one party from those of another. To the
purchasing public, a trademark 'signi[fies] that all goods bearing
the trademark' originated from the same source and that 'all goods
bearing the trademark are of an equal level of quality.'" Id.
(quoting 1 J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair
Competition § 3:2 (4th ed. 2007)) (internal citation omitted). To
establish trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, Venture was
required to prove that: (1) it owns and uses the "Venture Tape" and
"Venture Foil" marks; (2) McGills used the same or similar marks
without Venture's permission; and (3) McGills' use of the Venture
marks likely confused internet consumers, thereby causing Venture
harm (e.g., lost sales). See Star Fin. Servs., Inc. v. AASTAR
Mortgage Corp., 89 F.3d 5, 9 (1st Cir. 1996); 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
The parties agree that no genuine factual dispute exists concerning
the first two elements of proof.5
5
Venture's registration of the two marks, when coupled with
its continuous use of them from 1990 to 1995, is incontestible
evidence of Venture's exclusive right to use the marks. See
Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Wheeler, 814 F.2d 812, 820
(1st Cir. 1987). Further, McGills concedes that, without Venture's
permission, Gallagher embedded the marks verbatim on the McGills
website.
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Our focus then becomes the "likelihood of confusion"
among internet consumers. This inquiry requires us to assess eight
criteria: (1) the similarity of Venture's and McGills' marks; (2)
the similarity of their goods; (3) the relationship between their
channels of trade (e.g., internet-based commerce); (4) the
relationship between their advertising; (5) the classes of their
prospective purchasers; (6) any evidence of actual confusion of
internet consumers; (7) McGills' subjective intent in using
Venture's marks; and (8) the overall strength of Venture's marks.
Boston Duck Tours, LP v. Super Duck Tours, LLC, 531 F.3d 1, 10 n.6
(1st Cir. 2008) (citing Pignons S.A. de Mecanique de Precision v.
Polaroid Corp., 657 F.2d 482, 487 (1st Cir. 1981)) [hereinafter
"Pignons factors" or "Pignons analysis"].6 No single criterion is
necessarily dispositive in this circumstantial inquiry. Borinquen
Biscuit Corp. v. M.V. Trading Corp., 443 F.3d 112, 120 (1st Cir.
2006).
By the conduct of its case below, McGills effectively
admitted seven of the eight elements of the Pignons analysis. The
record contains numerous admissions that metatags and invisible
background text on McGills' website incorporated Venture's exact
marks. In his deposition, Gallagher admitted that the parties are
6
Venture's unfair competition claim (Count 2) and false
designation claim (Count 3) are subject to the same legal standard
-- namely, "likelihood of confusion" -- as its Count 1 infringement
claim. See Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U.S. 763, 780
(1992).
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direct competitors in the stained glass industry and that both
companies use websites to promote and market their products.
Gallagher even admitted that he intentionally used Venture Tape's
marks on McGills' website for the express purpose of attracting
customers to McGills' website and that he chose "Venture Tape"
because of its strong reputation in the stained glass industry.
These admissions illustrate the similarity (indeed, identity) of
the marks used, the similarity of the goods, the close relationship
between the channels of trade and advertising, and the similarity
in the classes of prospective purchasers. They also support the
conclusions that McGills acted with a subjective intent to trade on
Venture's reputation and that Venture's mark is strong.
Accordingly, only the sixth factor – evidence of actual consumer
confusion – is potentially in dispute.
On appeal, McGills argues that Gallagher had no way of
knowing whether or not his use of the Venture marks on the McGills
website had been successful, i.e., whether the marks actually lured
any internet consumer to the website.7 Thus, the company contends
7
The bulk of the other arguments raised by McGills on appeal
were not raised below, and are therefore waived for purposes of
appeal. Accordingly, we need not address them here. They include
assertions that: (1) the district court’s Pignons analysis depended
on Venture’s deliberately misleading record citations, by which
Venture falsely implied that Gallagher had admitted "every" aspect
of Lanham Act liability; (2) Venture misled the district court with
respect to the Pignons "channel of trade" factor by misrepresenting
that McGills and Venture both used their websites to "sell" their
respective products; (3) Venture's Exhibit E, which purported to
show that McGills' use of the marks had led consumers looking for
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that summary judgment in Venture's favor was improper because there
was no evidence of actual confusion. However, McGills' various
protestations below and on appeal that there is no direct evidence
of actual consumer confusion, even if accepted as true, are
ultimately beside the point.
Although Venture might have attempted to adduce evidence
of actual consumer confusion (e.g., internet user market surveys)
in support of a favorable Pignons determination, the absence of
such proof is not dispositive of the Pignons analysis. "[A]
trademark holder's burden is to show likelihood of confusion, not
actual confusion. While evidence of actual confusion is 'often
deemed the best evidence of possible future confusion, proof of
actual confusion is not essential to finding likelihood of
confusion.'" Borinquen Biscuit, 443 F.3d at 120 (citations
omitted); see also Brookfield Commc'ns, Inc. v. W. Coast Entm’t
Corp., 174 F.3d 1036, 1050 (9th Cir. 1999) ("[D]ifficulties in
gathering evidence of actual confusion make its absence generally
unnoteworthy."); cf. Societe Des Produits Nestle, S.A. v. Casa
Helvetia, Inc., 982 F.2d 633, 640 (1st Cir. 1992) ("[T]he district
court erred in suggesting that proof of actual harm to Nestle's
goodwill was a prerequisite to finding a Lanham Trade-Mark Act
Venture products to McGills' website, was misleading because the
exhibit discloses that McGills paid Yahoo! for a priority position
on search lists; and (4) Venture is barred from recovery under the
equitable defenses of laches or unclean hands.
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violation [because] [t]he Lanham Act contains no such proof-of-
injury requirement.").
McGills' admissions regarding the other seven Pignons
factors, particularly Gallagher's admission that his purpose in
using the Venture marks was to lure customers to his site, permit
us to conclude that no genuine dispute exists regarding the
likelihood of confusion. As a result, Venture was entitled to
summary judgment on the liability issue.
B. Award of Profits under the Lanham Act
Because Venture established its entitlement to summary
judgment on Lanham Act liability, it was potentially entitled –
subject to applicable principles of equity – to recover, inter
alia, McGills’ profits during the period that McGills infringed the
Venture marks. Lanham Act § 35(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).8 McGills
8
Lanham Act § 35(a) provides:
When a violation of any right of the registrant of
a mark registered in the Patent and Trademark Office, a
violation under section 1125(a) or (d) of this title, or
a willful violation under section 1125(c) of this title,
shall have been established in any civil action arising
under this chapter, the plaintiff shall be entitled,
subject to the provisions of sections 1111 and 1114 of
this title, and subject to the principles of equity, to
recover (1) defendant's profits, (2) any damages
sustained by the plaintiff, and (3) the costs of the
action. The court shall assess such profits and damages
or cause the same to be assessed under its direction. In
assessing profits the plaintiff shall be required to
prove defendant's sales only; defendant must prove all
elements of cost or deduction claimed. In assessing
damages the court may enter judgment, according to the
circumstances of the case, for any sum above the amount
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argues on appeal that the district court erred in awarding Venture
$230,339.17, McGills' net profits for the three-and-a-half-year
period of infringement, pursuant to section 1117(a). We review de
novo the legal standard by which the award was calculated and
review for clear error the factual findings supporting the award.
Tamko Roofing Prods., Inc. v. Ideal Roofing Co., 282 F.3d 23, 35
(1st Cir. 2002).
McGills first contends that, because it filed a timely
demand for a jury trial in its answer and never stipulated to the
withdrawal of that demand, the district court violated its Seventh
Amendment rights when it determined the amount of McGills’ profits,
rather than submitting the question for jury resolution. However,
the right to a jury trial can be waived. CoxCom, Inc. v. Chaffee,
Nos. 07-2030, 07-2031, ___ F.3d ___, 2008 WL 2954968, at *7 (1st
Cir. Aug. 4, 2008). "[A] party's participation in a bench trial
without objection constitutes a waiver of a jury trial right."
Id.; see also United States v. 1966 Beechcraft Aircraft Model King
found as actual damages, not exceeding three times such
amount. If the court shall find that the amount of the
recovery based on profits is either inadequate or
excessive the court may in its discretion enter judgment
for such sum as the court shall find to be just,
according to the circumstances of the case. Such sum in
either of the above circumstances shall constitute
compensation and not a penalty. The court in exceptional
cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the
prevailing party.
15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).
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Air, 777 F.2d 947, 951 (4th Cir. 1985) (jury right waived where
parties "fully and vigorously participated in the bench trial,
making no mention of their early jury demand"). Here, McGills'
counsel appeared at the remedies hearing and made a variety of
arguments challenging Venture's request. Counsel never objected
that the remedies issue should be tried by a jury rather than
determined by the judge. This acquiescence represents a waiver of
McGills' prior jury demand. See CoxCom, 2008 WL 2954968, at *7
(holding that appellants' "active participation both leading up to
and during the bench trial," coupled with a failure to
"specifically object to the lack of a jury," constituted waiver).
McGills raises two substantive objections to the award of
profits.9 First, the company challenges the district court's
finding that the infringement here was "willful," asserting that
such a finding is a prerequisite to an award of profits under the
Lanham Act. We have previously declined to reach the question of
whether "willfulness" is required as a foundation for such an
award, see Tamko Roofing Prods., 282 F.3d at 36, and we need not
decide the issue here. Even assuming that "willfulness" is
required, McGills has not demonstrated that the district court's
9
On appeal, McGills also argues that the district court erred
in awarding profits based on an infringement period of three-and-a-
half years. McGills claims that there was no evidence other than
"guesses and approximations" regarding the length of time the
infringing marks had been embedded in McGills' website. McGills
has waived this argument by failing to raise it below.
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finding of "willfulness" was clearly erroneous. McGills asserts
that Gallagher's admittedly intentional use of the Venture marks to
lure customers to his site was not "willful" because Gallagher was
unaware that such use of the marks was illegal. However, the
district court specifically noted that McGills had programed its
website so that Venture's marks were displayed in the same color as
the webpage background, concealing them from view. We can find no
clear error in the district court's conclusion that such
intentional concealment provides strong circumstantial evidence of
"willfulness."
Second, McGills attacks the award by claiming that it
overstates the actual harm to Venture. McGills first complains
that Venture did not even attempt to show actual harm, and suggests
that this failure means that there was no actual harm. Our case
law does not support that inference. When a mark owner cannot
prove actual damages attributable to the infringer's misconduct
(e.g., specific instances of lost sales), its recovery of an
equitable share of the infringer’s profits serves, inter alia, as
a "rough measure" of the likely harm that the mark owner incurred
because of the infringement, while also preventing the infringer's
unjust enrichment and deterring further infringement. Tamko
Roofing Prods., 282 F.3d at 36. The district court explicitly
concluded that the profits award here was "sufficiently substantial
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to serve these purposes without being unduly large or burdensome."
We find no fault with this conclusion.
McGills' alternative theory is that the award of profits
is overstated because the "only possible enrichment" to McGills
from the use of the Venture marks would have arisen from its sales
of foils and tapes. McGills argues, without marshaling any
competent evidence, that its sales of those products amounted to
less than one percent of its total sales. McGills complains that
Venture should have known this and provided more detailed
breakdowns to the court. McGills asserts that Venture "copied over
5000 records," but "carefully chose to show none of it to the
Court."
This argument entirely misplaces the burden of proof for
a profit award under the Lanham Act. We have held that "once the
plaintiff has shown direct competition and infringement, the
statute places the burden on the infringer to show the limits of
the direct competition." Tamko Roofing Prods., 282 F.3d at 37.
This allocation of burdens arises from the language of the Lanham
Act itself: "In assessing profits the plaintiff shall be required
to prove defendant's sales only; defendant must prove all elements
of cost or deduction claimed." 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). Here, Venture
met its burden by introducing tax returns showing Venture's gross
sales over the relevant time period. McGills then had the burden
of producing evidentiary documentation that some of those sales
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were unrelated to and unaided by McGills' illicit use of Venture's
marks. The company produced no such evidence. As a result, there
was no clear error in the district court's determination that
$230,339.17 represented an equitable share of McGills' $1.9 million
in gross sales during the three-and-a-half year infringement
period.
C. Attorney's Fee Award
Finally, McGills challenges the district court's award of
$188,583.06 in attorney's fees. The Lanham Act permits the court
to award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party in
"exceptional cases." 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). We review such awards
for abuse of discretion. Tamko Roofing Prods., 282 F.3d at 30.
The district court has discretion to consider an infringement case
"exceptional" if, after reviewing the totality of the
circumstances, it finds that the infringer's actions were
"malicious, fraudulent, deliberate, or willful." Id. at 31
(internal quotation marks omitted). As we noted above, the
district court did not err in concluding that McGills' infringement
was "willful." Accordingly, it did not abuse its discretion in
determining that this is an "exceptional case" where an award of
attorney's fees is appropriate.
Affirmed.
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