A New York federal judge on Tuesday awarded luxury accessory manufacturer David Yurman LLC $2 million to end a suit in which the company accused DashingDaisy LLC and its owner of selling products that rip off David Yurman’s copyright-protected designs.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman approved a consent final judgment and permanent injunction that also orders DashingDaisy to refrain from continuing to sell products through its website that lift David Yurman’s trade dress or giving the impression that the companies are connected.
In addition to the payment, the judge’s order permanently enjoins DashingDaisy from making, selling or promoting any goods that infringe David Yurman’s copyright, using any David Yurman designs in connection with the sale of unauthorized goods, using any David Yurman logos, and using any false product descriptions that make it appear as if the accused products are those of David Yurman’s.
“The court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay in entering this judgment,” Judge Furman said.
David Yurman initially filed its suit in August accusing Georgia-based DashingDaisy and its owner, Bobby J. Kim, of copyright and trade dress infringement as well as unfair competition through its manufacture and sale of jewelry that copied the plaintiff’s unique designs.
Among the designs purportedly infringed were David Yurman’s distinctive wrist-fitting bracelets, known as the “Cable Collection,” as well as its “Albion Collection” of earrings and its “Mosaic Collection” of rings, among others.
In addition to jewelry, the New York-based David Yurman also manufactures numerous other luxury items, including watches and eyewear. Its items are sold by leading retailers such as Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue and have been photographed in many of the world’s foremost fashion publications and are often sported by celebrities, according to a November amended complaint.
DashingDaisy purportedly copied the design of these various products and put them up for sale on its website, DashingDaisy.com, the complaint said.
David Yurman said that it first became aware of the infringing activity in March 2013 and sent the accused infringer a cease-and-desist letter demanding the items be pulled from its website. However, the letter went unanswered and the accused items continued to be sold, according to the complaint.
DashingDaisy later agreed to stop selling the accused items in response to a subsequent cease-and-desist letter, but the company did not follow through on its commitment and instead kept selling the infringing products, the complaint said.
DashingDaisy went so far as to block David Yurman’s internet IP from accessing the website where the infringing products were being sold, behavior that the designer’s complaint says makes clear that DashingDaisy’s infringement was willful.
Additionally, DashingDaisy used the plaintiff’s name in product descriptions that appeared on its website, an example being its description of certain thin-cuff bracelets as being “David Yurman-inspired.”
In November, the parties notified Judge Furman that they had settled the dispute and that they would be submitting a proposed final judgment and permanent injunction for the court’s approval within weeks. The submission was ultimately approved by the judge Tuesday.
Attorneys for both parties were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
David Yurman is represented by Brian W. Brokate, Walter-Michael Lee and Maja Szumarska of Gibney Anthony & Flaherty LLP.
DashingDaisy is represented by Brett E. Lewis of Lewis & Lin LLC.
The case is David Yurman Enterprises LLC et al. v. DashingDaisy LLC et al., case number 1:14-cv-06394, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Source: Law 360
