Supreme Court To Consider Overseas Reach of US Trademark Law

The US Supreme Court will debate the worldwide reach of federal trademark law, agreeing to consider the extent to which a foreign-based company can be forced to pay damages for infringing sales that take place overseas. From a report: The justices said they will review a $90 million jury award won by a Methode Electronics subsidiary in a lawsuit that accused an Austrian company and three of its units of selling copycat versions of proprietary remote controls used in heavy machinery. The Austrian company, ABI Holding, contends that $87 million of that sum covered devices that were sold overseas and weren't intended to be used in the US. The company says a federal appeals court ruling upholding the award threatens the business models of global retailers including Amazon and EBay. "That sweeping theory allows US courts to assess damages on a foreign defendant's worldwide sales any time a U.S. plaintiff claims lost sales abroad," ABI argued in court papers.

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