DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
041088P.pdf 04/11/2005 Taylor Corp. v. Four Seasons
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 04-1088
District of Minnesota
Civil case - Intellectual property. Adopting the majority view of the
other circuits, the court holds the appropriate standard for reviewing a
district court's findings of substantial similarity in copyright law cases is
clear error; district court correctly determined bankruptcy court order
constituted a transfer of ownership interests by operation of law to
plaintiff, and plaintiff owned the copyrights in the greeting cards at issue
in this case; district court's finding that the cards defendant produced
were substantially similar to plaintiff's trademarked cards was not clearly
erroneous; despite the availability of uncontested damages, plaintiff was
entitled to seek only injunctive relief; permanent injunction served the
public interest, and the district court did not err in permanently enjoining
defendant from violating the trademarks; defendant was not entitled to a
jury trial on plaintiff's action seeking only a permanent injunction.
[PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Loken, Chief Judge, and M. Arnold,
Circuit Judge]