Represented Universal Furniture International Inc., a home furnishings manufacturer, in a suit against Collezione Europa USA, Inc., a furniture wholesaler, based on Collezione's infringing imitations of Universal's highly successful Grand Inheritance and English Manor furniture collections and Collezione's marketing of those imitations. The court found (1) that Collezione had infringed upon Universal’s valid copyrights in Universal’s Grand Inheritance collection and English Manor collection; (2) that Collezione had passed off Universal’s furniture as Collezione’s, in violation of the Lanham Act; and (3) that Collezione’s violation of the Lanham Act also constituted an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1. After additional hearings related to monetary remedies the court awarded Universal Furniture International Inc. an amount that represented the entirety of Collezione's gross sales of the infringing furniture, as permitted by the Copyright Act.
Universal Furniture Int'l, Inc. v. Collezione Europa USA, Inc., No. 1:04CV00977, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31026, aff'd, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10880 (M.D.N.C. Feb. 12, 2009).
