Counterfeiting requires a spurious mark identical to or substantially indistinguishable from a registered mark, used on goods for which the mark is registered. Remedies include treble damages, statutory damages, and seizure.
Criminal penalties are available.
Alternative Names:
Trademark Counterfeiting|Counterfeit Goods Claim
Why it Matters?
Statutory damages up to two million dollars per counterfeit mark for willful counterfeiting eliminate the need to prove actual damages, which is decisive against defendants whose sales records are unavailable or unreliable. Ex parte seizure orders are also available, unlike in ordinary infringement. The identical mark requirement is the threshold defense, since a similar but distinguishable mark supports infringement rather than counterfeiting.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the threshold defense?
Why does the claim matter?
