Romag Fasteners Inc. v. Fossil Inc.
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-1233 | Fed. Cir. | Jan 14, 2020 | Apr 23, 2020 | 9-0 | Gorsuch | OT 2019 |
Holding: A plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit is not required to show that a defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff’s trademark as a precondition to an award of profits.
Judgment: Vacated and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on April 23, 2020. Justice Alito filed a concurring opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Kagan joined. Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in the judgment.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: Justices reject “willfulness” requirement for requiring trademark infringers to disgorge profits (Ronald Mann, April 23, 2020)
- Live blog of opinions (Update: Completed) (Kalvis Golde, April 23, 2020)
- Argument analysis: Justices dubious about blanket “willfulness” requirement for requiring trademark infringers to disgorge profits (Ronald Mann, January 15, 2020)
- Argument preview: Justices to consider “willfulness” requirement for disgorgement of profits of trademark infringer (Ronald Mann, January 7, 2020)
- Court releases January calendar (Amy Howe, November 8, 2019)
- Petitions of the week (Aurora Barnes, May 8, 2019)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Mar 22 2019 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 22, 2019) |
| Apr 02 2019 | Supplemental brief of petitioner Romag Fasteners, Inc. filed. |
| Apr 02 2019 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 22, 2019 to May 22, 2019, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Apr 04 2019 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 22, 2019. |
| May 22 2019 | Brief of respondents Fossil, Inc., et al. in opposition filed. |
| May 30 2019 | Letter from counsel for petitioner waiving the 14-day waiting period under Rule 15.5 filed. |
| Jun 04 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2019. |
| Jun 04 2019 | Reply of petitioner Romag Fasteners, Inc. filed. (Distributed) |
| Jun 26 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/27/2019. |
| Jun 28 2019 | Petition GRANTED. |
| Jul 12 2019 | Joint motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| Jul 17 2019 | Joint motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including September 13, 2019. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including November 26, 2019. |
| Aug 12 2019 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Romag Fasteners, Inc. |
| Aug 19 2019 | Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Fossil, Inc., et al. |
| Sep 13 2019 | Brief of petitioner Romag Fasteners, Inc. filed. |
| Sep 13 2019 | Joint appendix filed. |
| Sep 19 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The American Bar Association filed. |
| Sep 20 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The American Intellectual Property Law Association in support of neither party filed. |
| Sep 20 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of International Trademark Association in support of neither party filed. |
| Sep 20 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago in support of neither party filed. |
| Sep 20 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Intellectual Property Owners Association in support of neither party filed. |
| Nov 06 2019 | Motion for a further extension of time to file respondents' brief on the merits filed. |
| Nov 08 2019 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. |
| Nov 20 2019 | Motion to further extend the time to file respondents' brief on the merits is granted, and the time is extended to and including November 27, 2019. |
| Nov 26 2019 | CIRCULATED |
| Nov 27 2019 | Brief of respondents Fossil, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Dec 03 2019 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. Federal Circuit. |
| Dec 04 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Intellectual Property Law Professors filed. (Distributed) |
| Dec 04 2019 | The record received from the U.S.C.A. Federal Circuit is electronic and located on PACER, this record is complete. |
| Dec 27 2019 | Reply of petitioner Romag Fasteners, Inc. filed. (Distributed) |
| Jan 14 2020 | Argued. For petitioner: Lisa S. Blatt, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Neal K. Katyal, Washington, D. C. |
| Apr 23 2020 | Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Kagan, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Breyer and Kagan, JJ., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. |
| May 26 2020 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
