Taking Trademark Infringement Personally

Today’s entry is a cautionary note to corporate officers about trademark infringement. The Chicago IP Litigation Blog highlighted a recent decision from a federal court in Chicago concluding that an individual acting as a corporate officer can be held personally liable for trademark infringement he or she was personally involved in or aware of. The Seattle Trademark Lawyer blog provides further confirmation of this rule from a California court, which also found that direct involvement in trademark infringement can lead to personal liability on the part of corporate officers who participated in the infringement, without regard to the test for piercing the corporate veil, which often must precede a finding of officer liability in other legal contexts. Given this potentially personal stake in trademark infringement, corporate officers have an extra incentive to remain vigilant in policing potential trademark violations within their firms.

Posted by David Swetnam-Burland