Partner Julia Anne Matheson was recently quoted in a Bloomberg article reporting the 4th Circuit’s reversal on Monday of the $95 million damages award in Variety Stores’ trademark infringement suit against Walmart related to its BACKYARD mark for backyard grills. The 4th Circuit agreed that the jury was not properly informed of the meaning of willfulness in the trademark context.
Matheson opined that the damages award, which was "extraordinarily high" for a trademark case, " was a particular standout where ... the marks in question – BACKYARD, BACKYARD GRILL, BACKYARD BBQ – were so obviously weak and highly descriptive and thus so much less likely to be a true driver in consumer decision making."
Read more on the 4th Circuit’s reversal and its implications.
