Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Plaintiff,
Case No.
vs.
Defendants.
INTRODUCTION
competition, false designation of origin, and copyright infringement based on the illegal sale of
counterfeit Vera Bradley® goods by Defendants. Defendants have violated numerous federal and
state laws in the commission oftheir counterfeiting, which has occurred since at least as early as
January 2016, and potentially even earlier. Plaintiff has repeatedly demanded that Defendants
cease selling counterfeit goods and infringing its trademark to no avail. Defendant Jennifer
Denny even continued to sell counterfeit Vera Bradley® products after her lawyer represented in
writing that she would stop all such sales. As a result of Defendants' failure to fully and
permanently cease infringing Plaintiff's rights. Plaintiff is compelled to seek assistance from this
Court in the form of injunctive, monetary, and other relief against Defendants for the reasons set
forth below.
USDC IN/ND case 1:18-cv-00070 document 1 filed 03/26/18 page 2 of 17
THE PARTIES
corporation organized and existing under the laws ofthe State of Indiana with its principal place
of business located at 12420 Stonebridge Road, Roanoke,Indiana 46783. Vera Bradley is known
internationally for its unique designs for bags, luggage, and accessories. Vera Bradley is the
owner of over 50 federal trademark registrations and pending applications for the marks, VERA
Marks"). The VERA BRADLEY Marks are used, and federally registered, in Class 18 for bags,
of the State of Indiana with an address of6051 North State Road 109, Wilkinson, Indiana 46186.
3. Defendant Austin Devin 2 Denny Boys, LLC,is, upon information and belief, a
limited liability company organized and existing under the laws ofthe State of Indiana with its
principal place of business located at 6051 North State Road 109, Wilkinson, Indiana 46186.
Defendant Jennifer Denny owns Austin Devin 2 Denny Boys, LLC.
4. Defendant Darlene Nicholas is, upon information and belief, a citizen and resident
ofthe State of Indiana with an address of6140 W. Water St., Knightstown,IN 46148.
5. Defendant Amanda Whitfield is, upon information and belief, a citizen and
resident of the State of Indiana with an address of 1161 West 600 North, Greenfield, Indiana
46140.
6. Defendant Ilene Simpson is, upon information and belief, a citizen and resident of
the State of Indiana with an address of 1161 West 600 North, Greenfield, Indiana 46140.
USDC IN/ND case 1:18-cv-00070 document 1 filed 03/26/18 page 3 of 17
designation of origin, deceptive trade practices, and unjust enrichment under the Lanham Act, 13
U.S.C. § \ \\A et seq., the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 501 et seq., Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3 et seq.,
8. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to
9. This Court has personal jurisdiction over all Defendants because they either(1)
are a citizen ofthe State ofIndiana,(2)are incorporated in and maintain continuous and
systematic business connections with the State of Indiana; or(3)transacted business and
committed tortious acts within and directed to the State of Indiana, and Vera Bradley's claims
10. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to28U.S.C. § 1391 because a substantial
part ofthe events giving rise to Vera Bradley's claims herein occurred in the Northern District of
Indiana, because Defendants are subject to this Court's personal jurisdiction with respect to this
civil action, and because Vera Bradley maintains its headquarters and conducts business under its
marks at issue in this matter in this judicial district. Further, Vera Bradley has been, and
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
11. Vera Bradley was founded in 1982,and since then, has become a household name
for unique, high-quality bags,luggage, and accessories. VERA BRADLEY® Goods are instantly
recognizable because of their creative patterns. Moreover, Vera Bradley customers have come to
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expect, and demand,only the highest quality for a product branded with the VERA BRADLEY®
name.
12. Vera Bradley owns 35 federal trademark registrations, and 17 pending federal
trademark applications for its VERA BRADLEY® Marks.(Copies of the registration certificates
13. Similarly, Vera Bradley has registered its unique patterns—a staple of the VERA
BRADLEY® brand—^with the Copyright Office. It currently holds more than 900 copyright
14. Vera Bradley currently employs over 2,600 people, and eams nearly $500 million
in annual net revenue for the sale of its VERA BRADLEY® Goods. Very Bradley sells its
products in nearly 160 branded retail stores, through approximately 2,400 specialty gift retailers
and approximately 700 department stores, certain key accounts, and on its website,
www.verabradlev.com.
15. A unique attribute of Vera Bradley's business model is that it tightly controls who
is authorized to sell VERA BRADLEY® Goods online. Vera Bradley does not allow its
distributors to sell VERA BRADLEY® Goods online. Department stores are allowed to sell on
their own website and some specialty accounts are able to sell on their own website if they are
approved by Vera Bradley to do so. Vera Bradley also allow Zappos and eBags to sell on
Amazon. However, Vera Bradley does not allow any of our accounts to sell on eBay and this is
the venue where Defendants have sold much of their counterfeit product.
16. Vera Bradley has taken numerous steps to prevent counterfeiting of its VERA
BRADLEY® Goods, including cooperating with companies such as eBay and Amazon to stop
the advertising and sale of counterfeit goods. In fact, Amazon and Vera Bradley have recently
USDC IN/ND case 1:18-cv-00070 document 1 filed 03/26/18 page 5 of 17
filed a federal district court action in the Western District of Washington against other
counterfeiting defendants.
17. Defendants have established and operated, or are currently operating, various
eBay accounts through which they advertise, distribute, offer for sale, and sell counterfeit VERA
BRADLEY® Goods, and goods that infringe the VERA BRADLEY® marks and Vera Bradley's
copyrighted designs:
18. eBay's "Intellectual Property and the VeRO Program" policy explicitly states
that "Replicas, counterfeit items and unauthorized copies" are not allowed on eBay. Also
identified as "not allowed" in eBay's "Replicas, Counterfeit Items, and Unauthorized Copies
Policy," are "counterfeits, fakes, or replicas of brand name items(for example, a purse bearing
the Chanel name or logo that wasn't made by Chanel)." Sellers must follow these guidelines, or
may otherwise be subjected to a reinge of consequences, such as the item being removed from
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eBay, limits placed on the seller's buying and selling privileges, and suspension ofthe seller's
account.
19. Defendants' conduct in listing and selling counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods
20. Defendant advertised, marketed, distributed, offered for sale, and sold counterfeit
products that they claimed to be genuine VERA BRADLEY® Goods in violation offederal,
state, and common law, and eBay's seller policies. At no time has Vera Bradley licensed or
authorized Defendants to manufacture, import, or sell products bearing the VERA BRADLEY®
Marks,or to use or exploit the intellectual property rights of Vera Bradley in manufacturing,
marketing, distributing, offering for sale, or selling products bearing the VERA BRADLEY®
Marks.
21. Over the last several years Vera Bradley monitored Defendants' sales on eBay
and learned that Defendants were advertising, offering for sale, and selling counterfeit VERA
22. Vera Bradley learned that Defendants were operating under several eBay seller
23. Vera Bradley purchased some ofthe claimed Vera Bradley products that
Defendants listed for sale on eBay under their various account names in order to determine the
24. By way of limited example only, Vera Bradley purchased the following items
from Defendants that Vera Bradley determined to be counterfeit based on visual inspection ofthe
account "austindevin." Vera Bradley determined this was counterfeit because Vera Bradley
never made this product. Vera Bradley determined this product to be advertised and sold by
Defendant Denny because she owns and operates under the "austindevin" user account name.
account "austindevin." Vera Bradley knows this product to be advertised and sold by Defendant
Denny because she owns and operates under the "austindevin" user account name.
account "darlennicholaS." Vera Bradley knows this product to be advertised and sold by
Defendant Darlene Nicholas because she owns and operates under the "darlennicholaS" user
account name.
account "twosisterinlaws." Vera Bradley knows this product to be advertised and sold by
Defendant Amanda Whitfield because she owns and operates under the "twosisterinlaws" user
account name.
account "austindevin." Vera Bradley knows this product to be advertised and sold by Defendant
Denny because she owns and operates under the "austindevin" user account name.
25. On January 27,2017, Vera Bradley's in-house counsel sent a cease and desist
letter to Defendant Denny, demanding that she stop selling all VERA BRADLEY® products and
reveal her source of counterfeit goods. A true and correct copy of this correspondence is
attached as Exhibit A. Defendant Denny ignored this letter and did not respond and continued to
26. Because Denny did not abide by Vera Bradley's demand, Vera Bradley retained
outside counsel, who by letter dated July 26, 2017, wrote to all Defendants demanding that they
cease and desist from selling any products identified as Vera Bradley that they did not directly
purchase from an authorized Vera Bradley retailer or directly from an authorized Vera Bradley
distribution channel. A true and correct copy of this letter is attached as Exhibit B.
27. By letter dated August 1, 2017, Defendants responded through counsel, and
agreed immediately and unconditionally to cease and desist from selling unauthorized Vera
Bradley products and either deactivate or remove from all of their identified eBay accounts any
Vera Bradley products sourced from unauthorized channels. Significantly, Defendants' counsel
stated,"Mrs. Denny commits that such removal of suspect products is a permanent status for all
current and future online sales accounts." A true correct copy ofthis letter is attached as Exhibit
C.
28. After receipt ofthe August 1,2017 letter from Defendants' counsel, Vera Bradley
learned that Defendants were continuing to sell counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® goods on eBay
29. Defendants' sale of counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods, and goods bearing
the VERA BRADLEY® Marks without Vera Bradley's authorization enables Defendants to
trade on and receive the benefit of the goodwill that Vera Bradley has built in its brand at great
30. Defendants' sale of counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods, and goods bearing
the VERA BRADLEY® Marks without Vera Bradley's authorization, unjustly enriches
31. Defendants' sale of counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods, and goods bearing
the VERA BRADLEY® Marks without Vera Bradley's authorization, takes from Vera Bradley
the ability to control the nature and quality of products offered for sale and sold under Vera
Bradley's Marks.
32. Defendants' sale of counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods, and goods bearing
the VERA BRADLEY® Marks without Vera Bradley's authorization, is causing and will
continue to cause irreparable injury to Vera Bradley's brand, and to the consuming public,for
which there is no adequate remedy at law. Unless Defendants are immediately and permanently
enjoined from selling counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods, Vera Bradley will continue to be
harmed by Defendants' willful acts.
CLAIM I
(Trademark Infringement, 15 U.S.C.§ 1114)
35. Defendants have and continue to use, the VERA BRADLEY® Marks without
36. Defendants' have and continue to advertise, sell, and offer for sale, counterfeit
goods under the guise that these goods are genuine VERA BRADLEY® Goods, when in fact
they are not.
37. Defendants' use of the VERA BRADLEY® Marks as described in the paragraphs
above has deteriorated and will continue to deteriorate the goodwill Vera Bradley has built in the
38. The infringing goods that Defendants have and continue to advertise, market,
offer for sale, distribute, and sell are likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception as to their
39. Defendants' activities are likely to lead the public to conclude, contrary to fact,
that the infringing goods are somehow licensed, franchised, sponsored, authorized, or otherwise
approved by Vera Bradley. Such continued use of the VERA BRADLEY® Mark,and sale of
counterfeit goods, infringes Vera Bradley's exclusive rights in the VERA BRADLEY® Marks
under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114.
40. The willful nature of Defendants' unlawful conduct renders this an "exceptional
41. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §§ 1117(a)and (b), Vera Bradley is entitled to recover its
actual damages. Defendants' profits attributable to the infringement, and treble damages and
attorneys' fees. The amount of money due from Defendants to Vera Bradley is unknown to Vera
Bradley and cannot be ascertained without a detailed accounting by Defendants ofthe precise
number of units of infringing goods advertised, marketed, distributed, offered for sale, or sold by
Defendants. Alternatively, Vera Bradley is entitled to statutory damages under 15 U.S.C. §
1117(c).
impounding all infringing materials because Vera Bradley has no adequate remedy at law for
Defendants' wrongful conduct.
CLAIM II
(Copyright Infringement—17 U.S.C.§ 501)
10
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44. Vera Bradley is the sole owner ofthe designs protected by the copyrighted images
identified in this Complaint, and ofthe copyright registration identified in Exhibit B to this
Complaint.
publicly displaying, and/or creating derivative works ofthe designs without Vera Bradley's
authorization.
46. Defendants acted willfully in this regard, or at a minimum with willful blindness
47. Defendants have and continue to infringe Vera Bradley's copyrights in its
designs.
48. As a result, Vera Bradley is entitled to recover its actual damages and Defendants'
profits attributable to the infiingement. In the alternative, Vera Bradley is entitled to recover
statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. §504(c).
impounding all infringing materials because Vera Bradley has no adequate remedy at law for
Defendants' wrongful conduct.
CLAIM III
(False Designation of Origin and Unfair Competition, 15 U.S.C.§ 1125(a))
and Vera Bradley's copyrighted designs is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or to deceive
consumers as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of Defendants' services by Vera Bradley.
52. Moreover, Defendants' unauthorized use and misuse of Vera Bradley's name
and/or imitation designs (including displays, logos, icons, graphic designs, and/or packaging
11
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Defendants' commercial advertising or promotion, including in connection with the offering for
sale and sale of coimterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods in interstate commerce, constitutes
53. Defendants have used, and continue to use, the VERA BRADLEY® Marks to
54. Defendants' unauthorized use ofthe VERA BRADLEY® Marks is likely to cause
confusion among consumers as to the origin of goods bearing the Marks, as well as to create an
association between Vera Bradley and Defendants when no such connection exists. Such
unauthorized use ofthe VERA BRADLEY® Marks constitutes false designation of origin and
55. Defendants' unauthorized use ofthe VERA BRADLEY® Marks negates the
goodwill that Vera Bradley has built in its VERA BRADLEY® Marks since its first use in 1982.
56. As a result of Defendants' actions, Vera Bradley has suffered and is continuing to
suffer irreparable injury, and has incurred and is continuing to incur monetary damage in an
amount yet to be determined.
57. Defendants' willful misconduct renders this an "exceptional case" within the
COUNT IV
(Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices,Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3)
59. Defendants have represented that the counterfeit VERA BRADLEY® Goods are
sponsored or approved by Vera Bradley when, in fact, they were not, and Defendants knew or
12
USDC IN/ND case 1:18-cv-00070 document 1 filed 03/26/18 page 13 of 17
should reasonably have known that the goods were not sponsored or approved by Vera Bradley,
60. As a result of Defendants' actions, Vera Bradley has suffered and is continuing to
suffer irreparable injury, and has incurred and is continuing to incur monetary damage in an
COUNT V
(Common Law Unfair Competition)
association in the minds of consumers between Defendants and Vera Bradley when no such
connection exists.
64. Defendants have usurped the goodwill that Vera Bradley has built up in its VERA
66. As a result of Defendants' actions, Vera Bradley has suffered and is continuing to
suffer irreparable injury, and has incurred and is continuing to incur monetary damage in an
amount yet to be determined.
67. Defendants' acts were taken in willful, deliberate and/or intentional disregard of
13
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COUNT VI
(Unjust Enrichment)
WHEREFORE,Vera Bradley requests that the Court enter an order and judgment against
Defendants:
officers, agents, representatives, servants, employees, successors and assigns, and all others
B. That the Court enterjudgment in Vera Bradley's favor on all claims brought by it;
C. That the Court enter an order pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1116 and/or 17 U.S.C. §
503 impounding all counterfeit and infringing goods bearing any ofthe VERA BRADLEY®
Marks or that otherwise infringe Vera Bradley's copyright, and any related item, including
14
USDC IN/ND case 1:18-cv-00070 document 1 filed 03/26/18 page 15 of 17
D. That the Court enter an order requiring Defendants to provide Vera Bradley a full
and complete accounting of all sales made by Defendants over the last six years and the
amounts due and owed to Vera Bradley as a result of Defendants' unlawful actions;
E. That Defendants be required to pay all general, special, actual, and statutory
damages which Vera Bradley has sustained, or will sustain, as a consequence of Defendants'
lawful acts, and that such damages be enhanced, doubled, or trebled as provided for by 15
F. Awarding Vera Bradley its reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and disbursements
G. Awarding Vera Bradley such other and further relief as this Court deemsjust and
proper.
Plaintiff, by counsel, respectfully requests a jury trial for all issues deemed triable.
Respectfully submitted.
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VERIFICATION
STATE OF INDIANA
COUNTY OF ALLEN
I, MARK DELY,am the Chief Administrative and Legal Officer for Vera Bradley
Designs,Inc. and 1 certify on personal knowledge that the allegations made in this Verified
Complaint are true to the best of my knowledge,information, and belief.
Mark C. Dely
Ar r n*.iv K
Sworn to before me and subscribed in my presence by MARK DELY on this 26th day of
March 2018.
Notary Public
DEBORAH A. WILSON
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