Crocs, Inc. reported its wholly owned subsidiary, Jibbitz, LLC, prevailed in its Federal copyright and trademark infringement case against defendant Jinjiang Huakai Shoes and Garments Co. Ltd., Jinjiang Jiaxing Shoes and Garments Co. Ltd. and Yuanhui Chen and its principals. The Court granted an injunction barring sales of infringing products by the defendants and awarded damages in the amount of $56 million in addition to attorney fees and other costs.
The United States District Court in Nevada found that Jibbitz has developed creative and original designs for its shoe charms, Jibbitz owns all right, title and interest in its shoe charm designs, including all copyright rights therein, and the defendants have a history of infringing on Jibbitz copyrighted works. Jibbitz initially filed suit on this matter on February 22, 2008.
“We are satisfied by the Courts decision, further protecting the Jibbitz brand and copyrights,” stated Rich Schmelzer, President of Jibbitz. “As an innovative company, we are determined to protect our intellectual property. Moving forward, we will continue to take the necessary measures to defend our intellectual property against infringers.”
This was the second judgment in favor of Jibbitz in the last year, with a $1.8 million dollar judgment awarded to Jibbitz in May 2007 after an infringement ruling against Joinworld Industrial & Trading Limited.
