continued infringement after court order

[Bigfish101]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I created a design, copyrighted it after 90 days and have limited protection. An individual had this design mass produced (in excess of 1.2 million copies) and I took him to Federal court. I prevailed and my copyrights were validated and he was ordered to turn over all copies and to not infringe this design. He did initially complied. My attorney has retired and this person is again selling the same copies, how would I get this to court for him violating the court order. What would be some options. Thanks

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I created a design, copyrighted it after 90 days and have limited protection. An individual had this design mass produced (in excess of 1.2 million copies) and I took him to Federal court. I prevailed and my copyrights were validated and he was ordered to turn over all copies and to not infringe this design. He did initially complied. My attorney has retired and this person is again selling the same copies, how would I get this to court for him violating the court order. What would be some options. Thanks

Hiring another attorney is an option.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I created a design, copyrighted it after 90 days and have limited protection. An individual had this design mass produced (in excess of 1.2 million copies) and I took him to Federal court. I prevailed and my copyrights were validated and he was ordered to turn over all copies and to not infringe this design. He did initially complied. My attorney has retired and this person is again selling the same copies, how would I get this to court for him violating the court order. What would be some options. Thanks

If the infringed works are being sold online, you will first want to file a DMCA takedown notice on the site or sites hosting the material, to have the infringed articles removed from their place online.

If your infringer has decided to infringe again in violation of a court order, you will want to enforce the court order by heading back to court. You may need to seek from the court another restraining order for immediate (albeit temporary) relief.

Depending on the amount of money involved, your infringer could be criminally charged for his willful infringement of your designs. The Intellectual Property Program of the Financial Institution Fraud Unit of the FBI can be contacted. You can do this through your local FBI field office, or you can file a complaint online at https://www.ic3.gov or at https://tips.fbi.gov. The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Crime Division of the US Department of Justice prosecutes IP crimes.

I recommend you hire another attorney to handle this willful infringement of your works.

Good luck.

 

[Bigfish101]

continued infringement

Quincy thanks for your comment. I do plan on hiring another attorney and was seeking how this works so I might know the procedure and options. Thanks again

 

[quincy]

Quincy thanks for your comment. I do plan on hiring another attorney and was seeking how this works so I might know the procedure and options. Thanks again

You're welcome, Bigfish101.

As a note, your frustration at the continuing infringement of your works is a frustration shared by many copyright holders.

Infringers often find a quick and easy profit in stealing the rights-protected works of others and marketing these goods for sale. When stopped once - be it through takedown notices, cease and desist letters, injunctions or even infringement lawsuits - many infringers will start up again, sometimes operating under different names and using different channels to market the goods.

Trademark holders need to enforce their rights in their marks or they risk losing them, so they are aggressive when pursuing counterfeiters and infringers. Although copyright holders will not lose their rights to infringers, they generally lose money. If the amount of money is small, some copyright holders will not go beyond the filing of a takedown notice. This can stop many online infringers. However, if an infringer persists, the copyright holder is then left having to decide whether to spend the time and money to pursue the infringer in court - or letting it go.

With the number of copies of your works that have been infringed, pursuing the infringer can be worth the expense, especially if your works have been registered and you are eligible for statutory damages. Damages awarded a copyright holder when the infringement is willful (as it is with a repeat infringer) can be $150,000 per work infringed and, as I mentioned earlier, criminal charges are also possible.

I wish you luck, Bigfish101. And thank you for the thanks.