On February 26, 2025, the Supreme Court reversed a Fourth Circuit decision allowing district courts to require infringing defendants to disgorge the profits of non-party corporate affiliates. The Supreme Court explained that in awarding the “defendant’s profits” to the prevailing plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit under the Lanham Act, a district court can award only profits ascribable to the “defendant” itself. The decision was a victory for WLF, which filed a brief in the case arguing that when Congress invokes equity, it limits the types of recovery available to plaintiffs. Here, that means courts cannot award disgorgement of profits earned by non-parties.
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