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2022-cv-06035

Art Ask Agency v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified On Schedule A Hereto

法院:伊利诺伊州北法院
发案日期:2022-11-09
原告:Art Ask Agency
代理律所:HSP
诉讼类型:版权
# Date Description
[+] 1 2022-11-02 COMPLAINT filed by Art Ask Agency; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 402, receipt number AILNDC-20004313.
2 2022-11-02 CIVIL Cover Sheet
3 2022-11-02 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Art Ask Agency by Michael A. Hierl
4 2022-11-02 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Art Ask Agency by William Benjamin Kalbac
5 2022-11-02 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Art Ask Agency by Robert Payton Mcmurray
6 2022-11-02 MOTION by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency to seal document Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Under Seal
7 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Sealed Schedule A
[+] 8 2022-11-02 NOTIFICATION of Affiliates pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 by Art Ask Agency
9 2022-11-02 MOTION by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency for temporary restraining order Plaintiff's Ex Parte Motion for Entry of a Temporary Restraining Order, Including a Temporary Injunction, a Temporary Transfer of the Defendant Domain Names, a Temporary Asset Restraint, Expedited Discovery, and Service of Process by Email and/or Electronic Publication
[+] 10 2022-11-02 MEMORANDUM by Art Ask Agency in support of motion for temporary restraining order, 9
11 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 1 of Strid Declaration
12 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 2 of Strid Declaration
13 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 3 of Strid Declaration
14 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 4 of Strid Declaration
15 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 5 of Strid Declaration
16 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 6 of Strid Declaration
17 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 7 of Strid Declaration
18 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 8 of Strid Declaration
19 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 9 of Strid Declaration
20 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 10 of Strid Declaration
21 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 11 of Strid Declaration
22 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 12 of Strid Declaration
23 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 13 of Strid Declaration
24 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 14 of Strid Declaration
25 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 15 of Strid Declaration
26 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 16 of Strid Declaration
27 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 17 of Strid Declaration
28 2022-11-02 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 Part 18 of Strid Declaration
29 2022-11-03 MAILED copyright report to Registrar, Washington DC
30 2022-12-20 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: The Court has reviewed the pending motions and Plaintiff's complaint. Plaintiff's motion for leave to file under seal 6 is granted. However, before it can rule on Plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order, the Court orders Plaintiff to file a brief addressing the propriety of joinder of all of the Defendants by 01/16/2023.
31 2022-12-29 ANNUAL REMINDER: Pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 (Notification of Affiliates), any nongovernmental party, other than an individual or sole proprietorship, must file a statement identifying all its affiliates known to the party after diligent review or, if the party has identified no affiliates, then a statement reflecting that fact must be filed. An affiliate is defined as follows: any entity or individual owning, directly or indirectly (through ownership of one or more other entities), 5% or more of a party. The statement is to be electronically filed as a PDF in conjunction with entering the affiliates in CM/ECF as prompted. As a reminder to counsel, parties must supplement their statements of affiliates within thirty (30) days of any change in the information previously reported. This minute order is being issued to all counsel of record to remind counsel of their obligation to provide updated information as to additional affiliates if such updating is necessary. If counsel has any questions regarding this process, this LINK will provide additional information. Signed by the Executive Committee on 12/29/2022: Mailed notice.
32 2023-01-17 MEMORANDUM by Art Ask Agency Plaintiff's Memorandum in Support of Joinder
33 2023-09-29 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: The Court has reviewed the motion for entry of a temporary restraining order (TRO) 9 and the supplemental memorandum in support of joinder 32. The exhibits attached to the TRO motion, which are screenshots of Defendants' online storefronts, indicate that some Defendants are properly joined at this stage in light of the fact that they sell the same or similar clothing and use similar marketing images and language, and thus could plausibly be, as Plaintiff suggests, a single entity operating multiple storefronts or multiple entities obtaining their products from a single manufacturer. In either of those situations, joinder would be appropriate because there would be "the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences," as well as a "question of law or fact common to all defendants." Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2). The screenshots, however, indicate that many other Defendants are not properly joined because they do not appear to be connected by the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences. Plaintiff's assertion that "[e]ach of the Defendants uses common design elements, offers similar counterfeit products for sale. and uses the same advertising and marketing strategies" (Dkt. 32 at 6) is undermined by Plaintiff's own screenshots. For instance, some Defendants sell blankets; some sell temporary tattoos; others sell floor mats; another sells glass refrigerator magnets; some sell cell phone cases; and some sell do-it-yourself "diamond art" and cross-stitch kits; and Plaintiff's screenshots show that these products are not similar and do not use similar marketing images or language. (Compare, e.g., Dkt. 12 at 1-13, with Dkt. 12 at 65-84, with Dkt. 16 at 178-91, with Dkt. 17 at 1-9.) All of the products appear to infringe Plaintiff's trademarks or copyrights, but beyond that there is no plausible "logical relationship between the separate causes of action." In re EMC Corp., 677 F.3d 1351, 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2012); see also Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd. v. P'ships and Uninc. Ass'ns Identified on Schedule A, 334 F.R.D. 182, 187 (N.D. Ill. 2020) ("[T]ime and again the courts of this District have held that it is not enough for a plaintiff to simply allege that multiple defendants have infringed the same patent or trademark to meet Rule 20's requirements.") (collecting cases). Plaintiff relies on Bose Corp. v. P'ships & Uninc. Ass'ns Identified on Schedule "A," 334 F.R.D. 511 (N.D. Ill. 2020), but the Court is more persuaded by the contrary reasoning in Estee Lauder, 334 F.R.D, and in Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd. v. The P'ships and Uninc. Ass'ns Identified on Schedule "A," No. 20 C 845 (N.D. Ill. June 22, 2020) (Lee, J.), ECF No. 40. Plaintiff also argues that joining all 222 Defendants promotes judicial efficiency, but the Court finds that the opposite has been true, and that it would be more efficient to review filings (particularly exhibits) that are limited to a logical subset of Defendants. Accord Estee Lauder, 334 F.R.D. at 190. Therefore, by 10/16/23, Plaintiff may file an amended Schedule A consisting of (a) a subset of Defendants who have a logical relationship to each other, together with exhibits relevant only to the subset of Defendants demonstrating that joinder of the subset is proper, or (b) only one Defendant. In light of the improper joinder, the motion for temporary restraining order 9 is denied without prejudice, but Plaintiff may refile the TRO motion upon filing the amended Schedule A. Any refiled TRO motion should include exhibits relevant only to those Defendants on the amended Schedule A.
34 2023-10-16 AMENDED complaint by Art Ask Agency against The Individuals, Corporations Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Amended Schedule A Hereto
35 2023-10-16 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Amended Schedule A
36 2023-10-16 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Amended Exhibit 2 to Strid Declaration
37 2023-11-09 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: By 11/30/23, Plaintiff shall file a status report on the status of service and proposing next steps for this case.
38 2023-11-30 STATUS Report by Art Ask Agency
39 2023-11-30 MOTION by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency for temporary restraining order Plaintiff's Renewed Ex Parte Motion for Entry of a Temporary Restraining Order, Including a Temporary Injunction, a Temporary Asset Restraint, Expedited Discovery, and Service of Process by Email and/or Electronic Publication
[+] 40 2023-11-30 MEMORANDUM by Art Ask Agency in support of motion for temporary restraining order, 39
41 2023-11-30 SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency Exhibit 2 to Strid Declaration
42 2023-12-14 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado:Plaintiff's renewed ex parte motion for entry of a temporary restraining order, including a temporary injunction, temporary asset restraint, expedited discovery, and electronic service of process [39] is granted. Electronic service of process does not violate any treaty and is consistent with due process because it effectively communicates the pendency of this action to Defendants. See, e.g., Oakley, Inc. v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Associations Identified in Schedule "A", No. 20-CV-05049, 2021 WL 2894166, at *5 (N.D. Ill. July 9, 2021) (finding electronic service proper in similar circumstances). Enter Sealed Temporary Restraining Order.
43 2023-12-14 SEALED TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER Signed by the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado on 12/14/2023.
45 2023-12-28 ANNUAL REMINDER: Pursuant to Local Rule 3.2 (Notification of Affiliates), any nongovernmental party, other than an individual or sole proprietorship, must file a statement identifying all its affiliates known to the party after diligent review or, if the party has identified no affiliates, then a statement reflecting that fact must be filed. An affiliate is defined as follows: any entity or individual owning, directly or indirectly (through ownership of one or more other entities), 5% or more of a party. The statement is to be electronically filed as a PDF in conjunction with entering the affiliates in CM/ECF as prompted. As a reminder to counsel, parties must supplement their statements of affiliates within thirty (30) days of any change in the information previously reported. This minute order is being issued to all counsel of record to remind counsel of their obligation to provide updated information as to additional affiliates if such updating is necessary. If counsel has any questions regarding this process, this LINK will provide additional information. Signed by the Executive Committee on 12/28/2023: Mailed notice.
46 2024-01-02 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: The sealed temporary restraining order 43 expired on 12/28/23. By 1/9/24, Plaintiff shall file a status report proposing next steps for this case.
47 2024-01-08 MOTION by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency for preliminary injunction Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of a Preliminary Injunction Nunc Pro Tunc
48 2024-01-08 MEMORANDUM by Art Ask Agency in support of motion for preliminary injunction[47]
49 2024-01-08 DECLARATION of Michael A. Hierl regarding motion for preliminary injunction[47]
[+] 50 2024-01-08 STATUS Report by Art Ask Agency
51 2024-01-09 SUMMONS Returned Executed by Art Ask Agency as to The Individuals, Corporations Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Amended Schedule A Hereto on 1/8/2024, answer due 1/29/2024.
52 2024-01-09 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado:The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction 47. Plaintiff shall promptly serve, via electronic service, a copy of its motion for preliminary injunction on Defendants, and should file a certificate of service on the docket indicating same by 1/10/24. Defendants shall have until 1/17/24 to appear or otherwise object to the entry of a preliminary injunction. If no such appearance or objection is filed, the preliminary injunction may be entered. In light of the time given for Defendants to appear and object, the sealed temporary restraining order 43 is extended, nunc pro tunc from 12/28/23 until 4:15 p.m. on 1/18/24.
53 2024-01-09 CERTIFICATE of Service by William Benjamin Kalbac on behalf of Art Ask Agency
54 2024-01-18 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction 35 is granted, with the exception that the preliminary injunction will not be entered nunc pro tunc to 12/28/23, as Plaintiff has not explained the necessity of doing so. Plaintiff's filings establish that it has acted expeditiously to protect its interests and that there remains a significant risk Defendant will transfer relevant assets beyond the Court's reach. For these reasons, as well as the reasons provided in the whole of Plaintiff's filings and as stated by the Court in the previously entered temporary restraining order, the Court is persuaded that Plaintiff has satisfied the requirements for a preliminary injunction. In addition, the Court finds that the balance of harms favors Plaintiff and that a preliminary injunction serves the public interest by, among other things, protecting consumers from the marketing of counterfeit goods. Plaintiff has also certified and established 53 that it provided electronic notice to Defendant of the pendency of this case, but no objection to the motion for a preliminary injunction has been filed on behalf of the Defendants. The Clerk is requested to unseal any previously-sealed documents. Plaintiff's counsel is directed to ensure that the Defendants listed on Schedule A are added to the Court's docket within five business days. Instructions for adding a party to the docket can be found on the Court's website at https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/_assets/_documents/_forms/_cmecf/pdfs/v60/Add_Terminate_Instructions.pdf. Enter Preliminary Injunction Order.
[+] 55 2024-01-18 PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ORDER Signed by the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado on 1/18/2024.
56 2024-01-23 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado:Plaintiff has wrongly added Defendants to the case caption from the original Schedule A 7 instead of the amended Schedule A, which includes only 3 Defendants 35. The Clerk is directed to terminate all Defendants except for these: No. 8 KaFuLaiMan Store, No. 11 Shop1100023079 Store, and No. 22 VA888 Store. Now that a preliminary injunction has entered, Plaintiff shall file a status report by 2/16/24 updating the Court on the progress of this case and proposing next steps.
57 2024-02-01 CERTIFICATE of Service by William Benjamin Kalbac on behalf of Art Ask Agency
[+] 58 2024-02-01 MOTION by Plaintiff Art Ask Agency for default judgment as to Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Default and Default Judgment Against Defendants Identified in Amended Schedule A
[+] 59 2024-02-01 MEMORANDUM by Art Ask Agency in support of motion for default judgment, 58
[+] 60 2024-02-01 DECLARATION of Michael A. Hierl regarding motion for default judgment, 58
61 2024-02-02 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: Any defendant objecting to Plaintiff's motion for entry of default and default judgment 58 must enter an appearance and file a written objection by 2/16/24. If no objections are filed, the Court will consider the motion unopposed and proceed to schedule a default judgment hearing. Plaintiff shall promptly serve Defendants with this minute entry. The 2/16/24 status report deadline is stricken.
62 2024-02-05 CERTIFICATE of Service by William Benjamin Kalbac on behalf of Art Ask Agency
63 2024-03-30 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado:Having received no objection to Plaintiff's motion for entry of default and default judgment 58, the Court directs the Clerk to enter default against all remaining Defendants. A default judgment prove-up hearing is scheduled for 5/1/24 at 10:30 a.m. via WebEx video conference. Plaintiff shall serve Defendants with a copy of this minute order. The dial in number for the public is 650-479-3207, Access code: 23102507127. The parties will receive a Webex invitation by email.
64 2024-04-01 CERTIFICATE of Service by William Benjamin Kalbac on behalf of Art Ask Agency
65 2024-05-01 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado: Motion hearing held on 5/1/2024. Defendants did not appear. Plaintiff's motion for entry of default and default judgment against the Defendants identified in the amended schedule A [58] is granted. Enter judgment order. Civil case terminated.
66 2024-05-01 FINAL JUDGMENT ORDER Signed by the Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado on 5/1/2024.
[+] 67 2024-05-02 MAILED copyright report to Registrar, Washington DC
68 2024-05-14 RETURN of U.S. Post Office Receipt, article no. 7001 2510 0005 7681 6412.