Casio v. Schedule A - Complaint
Casio v. Schedule A - Complaint
Casio v. Schedule A - Complaint
COMPLAINT
counsel, hereby complains of the Partnerships, Unincorporated Associations and others identified
in Schedule A attached hereto (collectively, “Defendants”), and for its Complaint hereby alleges
as follows:
1. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction over the claims in this action
pursuant to the provisions of the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. § 1, et. seq., 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a)-(b) and
28 U.S.C. § 1331.
2. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391, and this Court may
properly exercise personal jurisdiction over Defendants since each of the Defendants directly
targets consumers in the United States, including Illinois, through at least the fully interactive
commercial Internet stores operating under the Defendant Domain Names and/or the Online
Internet Stores”). Specifically, Defendants are reaching out to do business with Illinois residents
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by operating one or more commercial, interactive Internet Stores through which Illinois residents
can purchase products infringing Plaintiff’s Patented Design, namely electronic calculators that
infringe U.S. Design Patent No. D580,478 entitled “Electronic Calculator” (the “Patented
Design”). Each of the Defendants has targeted sales from Illinois residents by operating online
stores that offer shipping to the United States, including Illinois, accepts payment in U.S. dollars
and, on information and belief, has sold products infringing Plaintiff’s Patented Design to
residents of Illinois. Each of the Defendants is committing tortious acts in Illinois, is engaging in
interstate commerce, and has wrongfully caused Plaintiff substantial injury in the State of
Illinois.
INTRODUCTION
3. This action has been filed by Plaintiff to combat e-commerce store operators who
trade upon Plaintiff’s reputation and goodwill by making, using, offering for sale, selling, and/or
importing into the United States for subsequent sale or use the same unauthorized and unlicensed
4. The Defendants create numerous Defendant Internet Stores and design them to
appear to be selling genuine Plaintiff’s products, while selling inferior imitations of Plaintiff’s
products. The Defendant Internet Stores share unique identifiers, such as design elements and
similarities of the infringing products offered for sale, establishing a logical relationship between
them and suggesting that Defendants’ illegal operations arise out of the same transaction,
to great lengths to conceal both their identities and the full scope and interworking of their illegal
infringing operation. Plaintiff is forced to file this action to combat Defendants’ infringement of
Plaintiff’s Patented Design, and to protect unknowing consumers from purchasing unauthorized
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products over the Internet. Plaintiff has been and continues to be irreparably damaged by
infringement of its valuable Patented Design by Defendants and seeks injunctive and monetary
relief.
5. This Court has personal jurisdiction over each Defendant, in that each Defendant
conducts business in Illinois and in this Judicial District, and the acts and events giving rise to
this lawsuit of which each Defendant stands accused were undertaken in Illinois and in this
Judicial District. In addition, each Defendant has offered to sell and ship infringing products into
THE PLAINTIFF
corporation. It was founded in 1946, and in 1957 introduced the world's first entirely electric
compact calculator. CASIO is best known for its electronic (including scientific) calculators,
technology. Today, CASIO is most known for making durable and reliable electronic products.
https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/calc
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8. The Patented Design sold under the CASIO name/mark is and has been the
subject of substantial and continuous marketing and promotion by Plaintiff (the “CASIO
Patented Design”). Plaintiff has and continues to widely market and promote the CASIO
Patented Design in the industry and to consumers. Plaintiff’s promotional efforts include — by
way of example, but not limitation — website and social media sites, and point of sale materials.
recognizable as such. In the United States and around the world, the CASIO brand has come to
symbolize high quality, and CASIO Products are among the most recognizable electronic
10. CASIO Products are known for their distinctive patented design. This design is
broadly recognized by consumers. Electronic calculators embodying this design are associated
with the quality and innovation that the public has come to expect from CASIO Products.
11. Plaintiff is the lawful assignee of all right, title, and interest in and to the CASIO
Patented Design.
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12. Plaintiff has not granted a license or any other form of permission to Defendants
signifying to the purchaser that the products come from Plaintiff and are manufactured to
Plaintiff’s quality standards. Whether Plaintiff manufactures the products itself or licenses others
to do so, Plaintiff has ensured that products bearing its Patented Design are manufactured to the
highest quality standards. As such, the goodwill associated with the CASIO Patented Design is
14. Plaintiff has expended substantial time, money and other resources in developing,
advertising, and otherwise promoting its Patented Design. As a result, products bearing the
Patented Design are widely recognized and exclusively associated by consumers, the public and
the trade as being products sourced from Plaintiff. Plaintiff’s Products have become famous
worldwide.
THE DEFENDANTS
15. Defendants are individuals and business entities who, upon information and
belief, reside primarily in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions.
Defendants conduct business throughout the United States, including within Illinois and in this
Judicial District, through the operation of fully interactive commercial websites and online
marketplaces operating under the Defendant Internet Stores. Each Defendant targets the United
States, including Illinois, and has offered to sell and, on information and belief, has sold and
continues to sell infringing CASIO Products to consumers within the United States, including
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16. The success of the CASIO brand has resulted in its infringement. Plaintiff has
identified numerous domain names linked to fully interactive websites and marketplace listings
on platforms such as iOffer and eBay, Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and DHgate, including the
Defendant Internet Stores, which were offering for sale, selling, and importing infringing CASIO
Products to consumers in this Judicial District and throughout the United States. Defendants
have persisted in creating the Defendant Internet Stores. Internet websites like the Defendant
Internet Stores are estimated to receive tens of millions of visits per year and to generate over
$135 billion in annual online sales. According to an intellectual property rights seizures statistics
report issued by Homeland Security, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of goods
seized by the U.S. government in fiscal year 2017 was over $1.21 billion. Internet websites like
the Defendant Internet Stores are also estimated to contribute to tens of thousands of lost jobs for
legitimate businesses and broader economic damages such as lost tax revenue every year.
17. Upon information and belief, Defendants facilitate sales by designing the
Defendant Internet Stores so that they appear to unknowing consumers to be authorized online
retailers, outlet stores, or wholesalers selling genuine CASIO Products. Many of the Defendant
Internet Stores look sophisticated and accept payment in U.S. dollars via credit cards, eBay,
Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and DHgate. Defendant Internet Stores often include images and
design elements that make it very difficult for consumers to distinguish such infringing sites
from an authorized website. Defendants further perpetuate the illusion of legitimacy by offering
“live 24/7” customer service and using indicia of authenticity and security that consumers have
come to associate with authorized retailers, including the McAfee® Security, VeriSign®, Visa®,
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18. Plaintiff has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use the CASIO Patented
Design, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of genuine CASIO Products.
19. Upon information and belief, Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by
using the CASIO Patented Design without authorization within the content, text, and/or meta tags
of their websites to attract various search engines crawling the Internet looking for websites
relevant to consumer searches for CASIO Products. Additionally, upon information and belief,
Defendants use other unauthorized search engine optimization (SEO) tactics and social media
spamming so that the Defendant Internet Store listings show up at or near the top of relevant search
results and misdirect consumers searching for genuine CASIO Products. Further, Defendants
utilize similar illegitimate SEO tactics to propel new domain names to the top of search results
after others are shut down. As such, Plaintiff also seeks to disable Defendant Domain Names
owned by Defendants that are the means by which the Defendants could continue to sell
20. Defendants go to great lengths to conceal their identities and often use multiple
fictitious names and addresses to register and operate their massive network of Defendant Internet
Stores. For example, many of Defendants’ names and physical addresses used to register the
Defendant Domain Names are incomplete, contain randomly typed letters, or fail to include cities
or states. Other Defendant Domain Names use privacy services that conceal the owners’ identity
and contact information. Upon information and belief, Defendants regularly create new websites
and online marketplace accounts on various platforms using the identities listed in Schedule A to
the Complaint, as well as other unknown fictitious names and addresses. Such Defendant Internet
Store registration patterns are one of many common tactics used by the Defendants to conceal their
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identities, the full scope and interworking of their massive infringing operation, and to avoid being
shut down.
21. Even though Defendants operate under multiple fictitious names, there are numerous
similarities among the Defendant Internet Stores. For example, some of the Defendant websites
have virtually identical layouts, even though different aliases were used to register the respective
domain names. In addition, the infringing products for sale in the Defendant Internet Stores bear
similarities and indicia of being related to one another, suggesting that the infringing products were
manufactured by and come from a common source and that, upon information and belief,
Defendants are interrelated. The Defendant Internet Stores also include other notable common
features, including use of the same domain name registration patterns, unique shopping cart
platforms, accepted payment methods, check-out methods, meta data, illegitimate SEO tactics,
similarly priced items and volume sales discounts, similar hosting services, similar name servers,
22. In addition to operating under multiple fictitious names, Defendants in this case
and defendants in other similar cases against online infringers use a variety of other common
tactics to evade enforcement efforts. For example, infringers like Defendants will often register
new domain names or online marketplace accounts under new aliases once they receive notice of
a lawsuit. Infringers also often move website hosting to rogue servers located outside the United
States once notice of a lawsuit is received. Rogue servers are notorious for ignoring take down
demands sent by brand owners. Infringers also typically ship products in small quantities via
international mail to minimize detection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A 2012 U.S.
Customs and Border Protection report on seizure statistics indicated that the Internet has fueled
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“explosive growth” in the number of small packages of infringing goods shipped through the mail
23. Further, infringers such as Defendants typically operate multiple credit card
merchant accounts and eBay, Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and DHgate accounts behind layers of
payment gateways so that they can continue operation in spite of Plaintiff’s enforcement efforts.
Upon information and belief, Defendants maintain off-shore bank accounts and regularly move
funds from their eBay, Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and DHgate accounts to off-shore bank accounts
outside the jurisdiction of this Court. Indeed, analysis of eBay, Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and
DHgate transaction logs from previous similar cases indicates that offshore infringers regularly
move funds from U.S.-based eBay, Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and DHgate accounts to China-
24. Defendants, without any authorization or license from Plaintiff, have knowingly
and willfully used and continue to use the CASIO Patented Design in connection with the
advertisement, distribution, offering for sale, and sale of infringing products into the United
States and Illinois over the Internet. Each Defendant Internet Store offers shipping to the United
States, including Illinois and, on information and belief, each Defendant has offered to sell
25. Defendants’ use of the CASIO Patented Design in connection with the
advertising, distribution, offering for sale, and sale of infringing products into Illinois, is likely to
cause and has caused confusion, mistake, and deception by and among consumers and is
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COUNT I
INFRINGEMENT OF UNITED STATES DESIGN PATENT
(35 U.S.C. § 271)
26. Plaintiff repeats and incorporates by reference herein the allegations contained in
27. Defendants are making, using, offering for sale, selling, and/or importing into the
United States for subsequent sale or use products that infringe directly and/or indirectly the
28. Defendants have infringed the CASIO Design Patent through the aforesaid acts
and will continue to do so unless enjoined by this Court. Defendants’ wrongful conduct has
caused Plaintiff to suffer irreparable harm resulting from the loss of its lawful patent rights to
exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, and importing the patented
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendants and each of them as follows:
1) That Defendants, their affiliates, officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and
all persons acting for, with, by, through, under, or in active concert with them be temporarily
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marketing, advertising, offering for sale, or sale of any products that are not genuine
b. passing off, inducing, or enabling others to sell or pass off any products as genuine
CASIO Products or any other products produced by Plaintiff that are not Plaintiff’s or
infringing CASIO Products are those sold under the authorization, control, or
with Plaintiff;
d. further infringing the CASIO Patented Design and damaging Plaintiff’s goodwill;
for sale, and which bear any Patented Design of Plaintiff, including the CASIO
thereof;
f. using, linking to, transferring, selling, exercising control over, or otherwise owning the
Online Marketplace Accounts, the Defendant Domain Names, or any other domain
name or online marketplace account that is being used to sell or is the means by which
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g. operating and/or hosting websites at the Defendant Domain Names and any other domain
names registered or operated by Defendants that are involved with the distribution,
marketing, advertising, offering for sale, or sale of any product including the CASIO
Patented Design or any reproduction, infringing copy or colorable imitation thereof that
2) That Defendants, within fourteen (14) days after service of judgment with notice of entry
thereof upon them, be required to filed with the Court and serve upon Plaintiff a written report under
oath setting forth in detail the manner and form in which Defendants have complied with paragraph
1, a through g, above;
3) Entry of an Order that, at Plaintiff’s choosing, the registrant of the Defendant Domain
Names registries for the Defendant Domain Names, including, but not limited to, VeriSign, Inc.,
Neustar, Inc., Afilias Limited, CentralNic, Nominet, and the Public Interest Registry shall
disable the Defendant Domain Names and make them inactive and untransferable;
4) Entry of an Order that, upon Plaintiff’s request, those in privity with Defendants and
those with notice of the injunction, including any online marketplaces such as iOffer and eBay,
Amazon, Alipay, Alibaba and DHgate, social media platforms, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Internet search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, web hosts for the Defendant
a. disable and cease providing services for any accounts through which Defendants
engage in the sale of infringing CASIO Products including the CASIO Patented
Design, including any accounts associated with the Defendants listed in Schedule A;
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Defendants in connection with the sale of infringing CASIO Products including the
c. take all steps necessary to prevent links to the Defendant Domain Names identified in
Schedule A from displaying in search results, including, but not limited to, removing
infringement of the CASIO Patented Design be increased by three times the amount thereof, as
6) In the alternative, that Plaintiff be awarded all profits realized by Defendants from
7) That Plaintiff be awarded its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; and
8) Award any and all other relief that this Court deems just and proper.
Respectfully submitted,
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned attorney hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the foregoing
Complaint was filed electronically with the Clerk of the Court and served on all counsel of
record and interested parties via the CM/ECF system on February 14, 2023.
s/Michael A. Hierl
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EXHIBIT 1
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The
The Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office
Has received an application for a new, origi-
States
design are enclosed. The requirements of law
have been complied with, and it has been de-
termined that a patent on the design shall be
0
granted under the law.
Therefore, this
WD)
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
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A
az United States Design Patent (o) Patent No.: US D580,478 S
Matsuda et al. (45) Date of Patent: x» Nov. 11,2008
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