Costco Ordered to Pay Damages of $5.5M to Tiffany in Trademark Lawsuit
October 05, 16
(IDEX Online) – A jury in the United States has ordered Costco to pay upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co. $5.5 million as part of a trademark lawsuit in which the jeweler sued the warehouse club retailer for selling supposed Tiffany diamond engagement rings that had no affiliation with the well-known jewelry brand itself, according to US media reports.
The amount awarded represents Costco’s “actual profits,” from selling about 2,500 engagement rings that the court found had infringed upon the Tiffany trademark, Biz Journals reported. The sum is well beyond the $781,000 that Costco had argued it owed at the start of the trial.
During October, Manhattan Federal Judge Debra Freeman will issue a final judgment on punitive damages following the jury's verdict on Thursday.
The lawsuit stems from claims by Tiffany & Co. that Costco was selling engagement rings that were branded as “Tiffany” rings with signs at a store in Huntington Beach, California.
Costco had argued that the word “Tiffany” was a generic term for a pronged, solitaire-style ring setting. A judge ruled against in September last year and ordered Costco to stop using the Tiffany name and logo in its marketing and merchandising of the jewelry.