There are a number of remedies available to a prevailing plaintiff. First and foremost a plaintiff is likely to seek injunctive relief in order to prevent any further harm to their brand (i.e. lost of reputation value and lost of profits). Injunctive Relief Section 1116(a) provides for injunctive relief. (a) Jurisdiction; service Comment: Notice that a plaintiff can file for injunctive relief in any federal district court and the defendant can be served anywhere in the nation. This is certainly a plaintiff/business friendly provision and makes sense since the statute provides national protection. Money Damages Injunctive relief is granted, where warranted, to prevent future harm, but the prevailing plaintiff is also entitled to money damages for past harm. Section 1117(a) (see below) allows the plaintiff to recover the following: (1) defendants profits; (2) any damages sustained by the plaintiff; and (3) cost of the action. § 1117. Recovery for violation of rights (1) defendant’s profits, 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 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. Comments: Another plaintiff friendly provision is the respective burdens described in (3) above. The plaintiff need only prove gross sales (a number more readily attainable) and it is the defendant's burden to prove all deduction therefrom. Section 1117(b) allows for treble damages if a court finds the intentional use of a counterfeit mark. Section 1117(d) allows for statutory damages for domain name violations. |
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