Exclusion of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Bodum USA, Incorporated v. A Top New Casting Incorporated

Case No.: 18-3020

Officials: FLAUM, MANION, and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Exclusion of Evidence

Bodum USA, Inc. (“Bodum”) produces and sells what design magazines and art museums have recognized as an iconically designed houseware product—the Chambord French press coffeemaker. Bodum sued A Top New Casting, Inc. (“A Top”) for selling a French press that Bodum claimed infringes on its unregistered trade dress in the Chambord. After a five‐day trial, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Bodum, finding that A Top had willfully in‐ fringed on Bodum’s trade dress in the Chambord and awarding Bodum $2 million in damages. The district court denied A Top’s post‐trial motion for judgment as a matter of law, in which A Top argued that Bodum failed to prove the Chambord design was nonfunctional. A Top also moved for a new trial because the court excluded evidence of various utility patents covering French press coffeemakers; the district court denied this motion as well. We affirm.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.