Group One Ltd. sued GTE GMBH and its owner, Ralf Weigel, for infringement of two patents titled "Tennis Net Tension System Including Service Let Indication Feature," false advertising under the Lanham Act, and state claims. The district court entered default judgment against GTE and Weigel for direct and indirect infringement, false advertising, and tortious interference with prospective business relations and unfair competition. The district court awarded lost profits for the 2019 and 2020 U.S. Opens but denied lost profits for 2021 and other unnamed tournaments and declined post-judgment interest. Group One moved for a TRO against the U.S. Tennis Association to prevent use of the accused Trinity system at the 2021 U.S. Open. The Federal Circuit partially affirmed and partially reversed aspects of the district court's rulings, and criticized seeking certain damages only after default as fundamentally unfair.
"To only seek such damages after default here is fundamentally unfair, as in this case it would more than triple Group One's damages award." - CAFC The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Thursday partially affirmed and partially reversed a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York that had denied holding a non-party in contempt of a temporary restraining order (TRO) and awarded less than the requested damages amount in a patent infringement suit.
The suit was brought by Group One Ltd. against GTE GMBH and its owner, Ralf Weigel, for infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 10,583,341 and 10,272,307; false advertising under the Lanham Act; and various state claims. The patents are both titled "Tennis Net Tension System Including Service Let Indication Feature." In tennis, a serve is considered a let when the ball hits the net but lands in the correct court and is thus started over without fault to either player.
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