Award of statutory damages for trademark counterfeiting precludes attorneys' fee award
In a pure statutory interpretation opinion, the Ninth Circuit concluded that a plaintiff's election of statutory damages in lieu of actual damages for trademark counterfeiting under 15 U.S.C. 1117(c) precludes that party from also recovering an award of attorneys' fees under 15 U.S.C. 1117(b). Not a positive result for the plaintiff, K and N Engineering, Inc., which had been awarded $100,000 in attorneys' fees by the trial court. The Ninth Circuit's opinion in K and N Engineering, Inc. v. Bulat, No. 06-55393, can be found here.
