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25 Intell. Prop. & Tech. L. J. 187 (2020-2021)
Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Grp., Inc. - 140 S. Ct. 1492 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/iprop25 and id is 199 raw text is: Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Grp., Inc. 140 S. Ct. 1492 (2020) ADENA CHEN* BACKGROUND Plaintiff is Romag Fasteners, Inc. (Romag), a seller of magnetic snap fasteners. Defendant is Fossil, Inc. (Fossil), a fashion accessory manufac- turer. Romag and Fossil signed an agreement where Romag's fasteners would be used in Fossil's leather goods. Romag later discovered that factories in China, which manufactured Fossil's products, were using counterfeit Ro- mag fasteners and that Fossil did little to stop this practice. Consequently, Romag sued Fossil and certain retailers of Fossil's products for trademark infringement, seeking an award for profits. Romag also alleged that Fossil falsely represented that the snap fasteners used on Fossil's products were actually made by Romag. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Romag brought suit against Fossil for trademark infringement, alleging that Fossil's foreign factory manufacturers were using counterfeit fasteners. The jury at the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut denied Romag's request for compensation. They determined that Fossil acted 'in callous disregard' of Romag's rights,' but did not act willfully. This barred Romag from compensation for Fossil's trademark infringement. Romag appealed at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which affirmed the district court's decision. However, the Federal Circuit's opinion was vacated and the case was remanded back to the district court where a limited final judgement was issued. On remand, the district court declined to award Fossil's profits and the Federal Circuit affirmed. The decision relied on Second Circuit precedent, which barred Romag from recovering ill-gotten profits in a trademark infringement suit unless Romag was able to prove that Fossil willfully infringed on its trademark. Romag petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, which was granted. * Adena Chen is a 2023J.D. candidate at the University of San Francisco School of Law. 1. Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., 140 S. Ct. 1492, 1494 (2020). 187

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