Hard Rock Cafe Licensing Corp. v. Concession Servs. - 955 F.2d 1143 (7th Cir. 1992)

Rule:

Willful blindness is equivalent to actual knowledge for purposes of the Lanham Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 1051 et seq. To be willfully blind, a person must suspect wrongdoing and deliberately fail to investigate.

Facts:

The Hard Rock Cafe Licensing Corporation (Hard Rock) owned trademarks on several clothing items, including t-shirts and sweatshirts. Hard Rock sent out specially trained private investigators to look for counterfeit Hard Rock Cafe merchandise. Hard Rock brought suit against concession service and vendor under the Lanham Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 et seq. (1988). The district court found that the defendants violated the Act and entered permanent injunctions forbidding the sale of counterfeit t-shirts on defendants’ premises. The court did not, however, award attorney's fees against either defendant. Defendant appealed the entry of permanent injunction while plaintiff appealed the decision of the trial court not to award attorney's fees as to either defendant.

Issue:

1. Under the circumstances, could the defendants be held liable under the Lanham Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 et seq. (1988)?
2. Was the plaintiff entitled to the award of attorney’s fees?

Answer:

1) No, with respect to the concession service. 2) The issue should be settled on remand.

Conclusion:

The court vacated the finding of liability as to defendant concession service and vacated the denial of attorney's fees to plaintiff. The court reasoned that there was no evidence on the record that would support a finding that defendant concession service was vicariously liable for the unlawful sales, but that it may have been contributorily liable. The court found that the entry of an appropriate injunction would have been within the discretion of the trial court on remand. Finally, the court stated that the decision to award attorney's fees would have been dependent on the outcome of the liability issue after retrial.