WASHINGTON - The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) joined the Washington Legal Foundation on Friday in an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals involving intellectual property.
The case involved a retail business in Denver, I&G Liquors, which sold counterfeit packages of Newport cigarettes to representatives of Lorillard Tobacco Company, the maker of the Newport brand.
The case involved a retail business in Denver, I&G Liquors, which sold counterfeit packages of Newport cigarettes to representatives of Lorillard Tobacco Company, the maker of the Newport brand.
Lorillard filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the retailer from selling additional counterfeit cigarettes. The retailer did not deny the facts of the case or offer to make any effort to prevent such sales of counterfeit cigarettes in the future.
A district judge denied the motion without a written opinion, but comments by the judge suggested he was influenced by the small size of the defendant's business, his denial that he knowingly sold counterfeit cigarettes, and the small number of counterfeit cigarettes sold. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court decision.
The full amicus brief can be read by clicking here.