United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issues a decision following a bench trial.

NEW YORK, February 24, 2009 – Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, a leading firm in trademark, copyright, design patent and unfair competition law, announced today that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a decision following a bench trial awarding more than $2 million to its client Kam Hing Enterprises, a major manufacturer of bedding products to compensate it for  copyright infringement of its “Clarissa” patchwork quilt design.  The defendants included a competing company and a global, big-box retailer.  

Prior to trial, Fross Zelnick succeeded in moving for summary judgment on liability for the infringement and the Court found that the defendants’ quilt design was strikingly similar to the plaintiff’s copyrighted work.  The Court rejected defendants’ arguments that they had independently created the quilt at issue, and further rejected defendants’ argument that Kam Hing Enterprises’ design was not protected by the copyright laws. 

John Margiotta and Michael Chiappetta headed the Fross Zelnick trial team. 

“This was a thrilling victory for our client under any circumstances, but to see this case through trial in these economic times took great courage on our client’s part and confidence in the judicial system.  It is a real lesson that while litigation can be expensive, and time consuming, it remains important for business owners, creators, designers and entrepreneurs to defend their intellectual property.  When the system works, as it did here, such enforcement efforts can even bolster a company’s bottom line,” said Mr. Margiotta.