Willful Ignorance Cannot Be Considered As A Defense In An Infringement Suit

Luxottica Group is an Italian corporation having a registered office in Washington. The company is involved in the business of Luxury eyewear manufacturers and is holding registered trademarks. The company brought a contributory trademark infringement action under the Lanham Act against Airport Mini Mall, which owned discount mall whose subtenants were selling counterfeit eyewear, mall's owners, mall's manager, landlord, and landlord's property manager. The defendants have appealed in the United States Court of Appeals of the Eleventh Circuit, after their petition was rejected in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

The defendants, Jerome and Jenny Yeh own defendant Yes Assets, LLC. In 2004, Yes Assets purchased the Old National Village Shopping Center in College Park, Georgia. The particular Shopping Center included about 30 store fronts as well as an approximately 70-000 square foot indoor space, which was termed as "the Mall",