jezign licensing v. skechers - complaint

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

JEZIGN LICENSING, LLC 4400 East-West Highway, Suite 811 Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4508,

Plaintiff,

v. SKECHERS U.S.A., INC. 228 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Manhattan Beach, California 90266-5347

Serve on: CSC-Lawyers Incorporating Service Company 7 St. Paul Street, Suite 820 Baltimore, Maryland 21202,

Defendant.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

COMPLAINT

Jezign Licensing, LLC (“Jezign”) brings this patent-infringement action against Skechers

U.S.A., Inc. (“Skechers”).

Parties

1. Jezign is a New York limited liability company, having its principal place of

business in Bethesda, Maryland.

2. Skechers is a Delaware corporation, having its principal place of business in

Manhattan Beach, California.

Jurisdiction and Venue

3. This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 101, et

seq.

Case 8:16-cv-01193-TDC Document 1 Filed 04/21/16 of 4

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4. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action under 28 U.S.C.

§§ 1331 and 1338(a).

5. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Skechers. Skechers conducts continuous

and systematic business in this District, and this patent-infringement case arises in part directly

from Skechers’s continuous and systematic activity in this District. This Court’s exercise of

jurisdiction over Skechers would be consistent with the Maryland long-arm statute and

traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

6. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)(1)-(2) and

1400(b).

Count 1 – Infringement of U.S. Design Patent No. D554,848

7. Jezign owns the exclusive rights in the ornamental designs claimed in United

States Design Patent No. D554,848 (the “‘848 Patent”) (attached hereto as Exhibit A).

8. Without Jezign’s authorization, Skechers made, used, offered for sale, sold,

and/or imported into the United States shoes having designs that infringe the ‘848 Patent

(hereinafter the “Infringing Shoes”). The Infringing Shoes include at least the model named

“Sporty Shorty Revv Air Flintz” and shoes bearing the same or substantially similar infringing

designs, regardless of model name.

9. The overall appearance and placement of the Infringing Shoes’ illumination

system within the sole is substantially the same as the design claimed in the ‘848 Patent.

10. An ordinary observer will perceive the substantial similarity between the design

of Jezign’s ‘848 Patent and the corresponding design of Skechers’ Infringing Shoes.

11. The table below illustrates Skechers’ infringement by comparing a figure from the

‘848 Patent with an exemplary image of Skechers’ Infringing Shoes.


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‘848 Patent Figures Exemplary Infringing Shoes:

Skechers Sporty Shorty Revv Air Flintz

12. Jezign has been and will continue to be irreparably harmed by Skechers’

infringement of the ‘848 patent.

Prayer for Relief

WHEREFORE, Jezign prays for the following relief against Skechers:

a. Judgment that Skechers has infringed the ornamental designs claimed in

the ‘848 Patent;

b. The total profit made by Skechers from its infringement of the ‘848 Patent

pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 289;

c. Injunctive relief;

d. Pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest at the maximum rate

allowed by law; and

e. Such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Demand for Jury Trial

Jezign demands a trial by jury on all matters and issues triable by jury.


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Date: April 21, 2016 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Andrew D. Freeman (Fed. Bar No. 03867) Albert Elia (Fed. Bar No. 14130) Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP 120 E. Baltimore St., Suite 1700 Baltimore, MD 21202 Tel: (410) 962-1030 Fax: (410) 385-0869 [email protected] [email protected] Matthew M. Wawrzyn (pro hac vice pending) Wawrzyn & Jarvis LLC 233 S. Wacker Dr., 84th Floor Chicago, IL 60606 Tel: (847) 274-9844 [email protected] Counsel for Plaintiff Jezign Licensing, LLC


Exhibit A

Case 8:16-cv-01193-TDC Document 1-1 Filed 04/21/16 Page 1 of 7

Illlll llllllll Ill lllll llllll llll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111 USOOD554848S

c12) United States Design Patent c10) Patent No.: US D554,848 S Marston (45) Date of Patent: ** Nov. 13, 2007

(54) ILLUMINATED SHOE LOWER

(75) Inventor: Jez Marston, Silver Spring, MD (US)

(73) Assignee: Jezign, LLC, Bethesda, MD (US)

(**) Term: 14 Years

(21) Appl. No.: 29/217,103

(22) Filed: Nov. 15, 2004

Related U.S. Application Data

(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 10/386,509, filed on Mar. 13, 2003, now Pat. No. 6,837,590, which is a continuation-in-part of application No. 09/963,787, filed on Sep. 27, 2001, now abandoned.

(51) LOC (8) Cl. ................................................. 02-99 (52) U.S. Cl. ......................................... D2/977; D2/964 (58) Field of Classification Search ................. D2/902,

D2/906-912, 946, 972-974, 964, 977; 36/25 R, 36/43

See application file for complete search history.

(56) References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

4,158,922 A 611979 Dana, III D341,478 s * 11/1993 Forland et al ............... D2/977 D350,016 s * 8/ 1994 Passke et al. ................ D2/946 5,930,921 A 8/ 1999 Sorofman et al. 6,007,211 A 12/1999 Cheung 6,023,784 A 212000 Yeal 6,050,007 A 412000 Angelieri et al. 6,457,261 Bl 10/2002 Crary 6,618,959 Bl 9/2003 Sussmann 6,659,618 B2 12/2003 Waters D490,220 S * 512004 Edauw ........................ D2/908 D490,221 S * 512004 Edauw ........................ D2/908 D511,618 S * 11/2005 McDowell et al. . ......... D2/977 D516,786 S * 3/2006 Besanceney, III ............ D2/964

D520,722 S * 512006 Hlavacs ....................... D2/964

* cited by examiner

Primary Examiner-Dominic Simone (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cahn & Samuels, LLP.

(57) CLAIM

The ornamental design for an illuminated shoe lower, as shown and described.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the illuminated shoe lower in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the illuminated shoe lower shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the illuminated shoe lower shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the illuminated shoe lower illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the illuminated shoe lower shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an illuminated shoe lower in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the illuminated shoe lower depicted in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an illuminated shoe lower in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention; and,

FIG. 9 is a right side view of the illuminated shoe lower illustrated in FIG. 8.

The broken lines in the shoe upper depicted in the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and form no part of the claimed design. The broken lines extending from the translucent regions of the shoe lower indicate that those regions are illuminated.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Sheets


U.S. Patent Nov. 13, 2007 Sheet 1 of 5 US D554,848 S


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16-cv-1191, 16-cv-1192


AO 440 (Rev. 06/12) Summons in a Civil Action

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTfor the

__________ District of __________

))))))))))))

Plaintiff(s)

v. Civil Action No.

Defendant(s)

SUMMONS IN A CIVIL ACTION

To: (Defendant’s name and address)

A lawsuit has been filed against you.

Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) — or 60 days if youare the United States or a United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed. R. Civ.P. 12 (a)(2) or (3) — you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 ofthe Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney,whose name and address are:

If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court.

CLERK OF COURT

Date:Signature of Clerk or Deputy Clerk


AO 440 (Rev. 06/12) Summons in a Civil Action (Page 2)

Civil Action No.

PROOF OF SERVICE(This section should not be filed with the court unless required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 (l))

This summons for (name of individual and title, if any)

was received by me on (date) .

’ I personally served the summons on the individual at (place)

on (date) ; or

’ I left the summons at the individual’s residence or usual place of abode with (name)

, a person of suitable age and discretion who resides there,

on (date) , and mailed a copy to the individual’s last known address; or

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designated by law to accept service of process on behalf of (name of organization)

on (date) ; or

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My fees are $ for travel and $ for services, for a total of $ .

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jezign licensing v. skechers - complaint

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