A trademark infringement lawsuit involving branded merchandise, a skateboard apparel brand, professional golfer Phil Mickelson’s LIV Golf team, HyFlyers GC, and LIV Golf Inc. has been dismissed after the parties apparently reached a settlement.
U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner signed an order, agreed and stipulated to by both parties, that officially dismissed the case with prejudice on Jan. 24. A “with-prejudice” dismissal essentially means the case is done permanently and can not be brought again.
The dismissal came after the parties made a late January court filing in which they indicated that a settlement had been reached.
Details of the settlement were not available, but it appears that HyFlyers GC is now using a team logo that’s different than the one that sparked the lawsuit.
In its complaint first filed in New Jersey federal court in June 2023, Cool Brands Supply asserted that the logo HyFlyers GC used on its branded merchandise and elsewhere at the time infringed on trademarks held by Fallen Footwear by being “nearly identical” to the logo of the skateboarding apparel/footwear brand.
Cool Brands Supply Co., an Argentina-based business with what’s described as a substantial presence in the United States, owns the intellectual property rights to Fallen Footwear.
Fallen’s logo, which it has used for about 20 years, features on shoes, hats, clothing and accessories. It’s composed of two artistically styled back-to-back “Fs,” for Fallen Footwear.
The previous HyFlyers logo also displayed stylized letters. The composition of the letters in both logos was suggestive of wings. The previous HyFlyers logo had appeared on items that included hats, shirts and sweatshirts, the lawsuit said.
Fallen Footwear’s logo is on the left. The logo formerly used by HyFlyers GC, which sparked the lawsuit, is on the right.
LIV Golf Incorporated is a professional golf tour that began in 2022.
Last year, ASI Media spoke with legal experts for tips on avoiding trademark infringement when creating logos and graphics – a topic of relevance for the promotional products industry. The experts also gave advice on what to do if your trademark has been infringed upon, or if you’ve been hit with a violation claim.
