News

A federal jury today found in favor of Ellis George client Brandy Melville and against defendant Redbubble, Inc. in one of the first in-person jury trials in federal court in Los Angeles following the quarantine.  Brandy Melville, a popular girls’ fashion brand, brought claims against Redbubble, a leading print-on-demand website, for infringing upon and counterfeiting multiple Brandy Melville trademarks, including the registered Brandy Melville trade name and LA Lightning trademark.  The jury rendered a verdict in favor of Brandy Melville, finding that Redbubble had engaged in willful contributory counterfeiting and trademark infringement and awarding a total of $500,000 in statutory damages and $20,000 in wrongful profits.  Following entry of judgment, Brandy Melville will also seek a permanent injunction and an award of attorney’s fees and costs under the Lanham Act.  In a Law360 piece covering the verdict, lead counsel, Ellis George partner Keith Wesley, remarked:  “A visitor to the Redbubble website can find counterfeits of almost every major brand in the world.  We are grateful that the jury agreed that the type of trademark counterfeiting that Redbubble has facilitated online for years is unlawful and needs to stop.”  Brandy Melville was represented at trial by Keith Wesley and Jason Kelly, and Ryan Keech assisted and advised throughout the case.