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31 October 2019TrademarksSaman Javed

Oakley takes second bite at sunglasses case maker

Oakley is suing a Florida-based company for selling counterfeit sunglasses cases, a little over a year after the parties entered into a settlement agreement over the same dispute.

In its complaint, filed yesterday, October 30 at the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Oakley took aim at “repeat counterfeiters” Galaxy Lenses.

Galaxy Lenses was infringing its trademark for the symbol of an eclipse with a hollow middle, registered in class 9 for sunglasses, goggles, and accessories such as cases, Oakley claimed in the suit.

This is the second time Oakley has taken legal action against the company. In October 2018, the eyewear brand filed a trademark infringement suit, alleging that Galaxy Lenses was using its trademarks to advertise, market and sell counterfeit goods without authorisation.

The following month, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. But, in September 2019, Oakley discovered that Galaxy Lenses had resumed its counterfeiting activity, the latest filing said.

On September 10, 2019, Oakley’s investigator purchased a sunglasses case advertised as an “Oakley Clam Shell Protection Zippered Hard Case” for $13.98 from Galaxy Lenses. Again, on September 27, the investigator purchased five sunglasses cases, for a total of $69.90.

“Oakley subsequently inspected the purchased items and determined that the sunglass cases bearing reproductions of the Oakley Trademark were in fact counterfeit products,” the filing said.

Oakley said the sale of these cases is intended to cause confusion and deceive consumers into believing Galaxy Lenses is selling authentic Oakley products.

Additionally, it said the damages caused to Oakley’s reputation is especially severe because the allegedly counterfeit products are “cheap, inexpensive and inferior in quality to authentic Oakley products”.

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10 September 2019   Europe’s highest court has sided with Oakley, overturning a ruling by the European Intellectual Property Office that the eyewear maker could not stop a Chinese individual from registering a trademark which it said was too similar to its earlier trademarks.