The Katten Kattwalk - Winter 2014

Edited by Karen Artz Ash

Trademark Infringed? No Preliminary Injunction Unless Irreparable Harm Proved

by Karen Artz Ash and Bret J. Danow

In deciding motions for preliminary injunction in a trademark infringement case, courts have traditionally held that irreparable harm to a trademark owner was presumed once a finding was made that a defendant's use of the mark at issue is likely to cause confusion. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, however, in the case Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC v. Florida Entertainment Management, Inc, recently broke away from past precedent and took a different approach to the standard for granting injunctive relief in a trademark infringement matter.