Indianapolis, Indiana – Plaintiffs Acushnet Company of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Roger Cleveland Golf Company, Inc. of Huntington Beach, California and Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. of Hyogo, Japan filed a trademark lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana. This intellectual property litigation, commenced by an Indiana trademark litigator for Plaintiffs, was filed against both an individual and a business entity.
Listed as Defendants in this lawsuit are Giorgio Nunns a/k/a George Nunns a/k/a Georgie Nunns a/k/a Giorgio, an individual, and Custom Golf Solutions, LLC, individually and jointly, doing business under the names “bogie’s nearly new golf,” “gnunns81” and “golfcustomsolutions15.” Defendants operate in Indianapolis and Carmel, Indiana.
Defendants are accused of engaging in the sale of counterfeit products and infringing upon Plaintiffs’ trademarks. The following trademarks, to which Acushnet claims ownership and/or an exclusive license, are at issue:
| Trademark | Registration No. | Registration Date | Class/Goods |
| |
1,155,766 | 26 May 1981 | IC 28: golf equipment, namely golf balls, golf clubs and golf bags. |
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3,376,961 | 5 February 2008 | IC 24: golf towels
IC 25: golf clothing, namely jackets, shirts, hats and visors. IC 28: golf equipment, namely golf putters, golf club head covers, golf club grips and divot tools. |
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2,620,432 | 17 September 2002 | IC 28: golf clubs and accessories, namely golf tees, golf gloves, golf bags, golf putters, golf drivers, golf woods, golf irons, golf green repair tools, golf club covers and golf bag covers. |
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3,421,373 | 6 May 2008 | IC 28: golf equipment, namely golf bags. |
Further, Plaintiff Cleveland Golf asserts ownership of the following federal trademarks, also at issue in this lawsuit:
| Trademark | Registration No. | Registration Date | Class/Goods |
| |
2,070,051 | 10 June 1997 | IC 18: carry all bags and umbrellas
IC 25: golf apparel, namely shirts, caps, visors, sweatshirts, and sweater vests. IC 28: golf clubs, golf club heads, golf club shafts, golf club grips, golf bags, golf bag covers, and golf club head covers. |
| |
2,302,251 | 21 December 1999 | IC 28: golf clubs, and golf club heads, namely woods, irons, and putters. |
Plaintiffs state that Defendants are “manufacturing, promoting and otherwise advertising, distributing, selling, and offering for sale…golf clubs and golf accessories…which are counterfeits and/or infringements” of Plaintiffs’ trademarks. Plaintiffs further contend that Defendants’ goods are of a “different quality” from Plaintiffs’ “high quality products.”
Plaintiffs assert that Defendants’ acts damage Plaintiffs’ brands and constitute a fraud upon the public. The claims in this lawsuit, brought in Indiana federal court, are as follows:
- Count I: Trademark Counterfeiting
- Count II: Trademark Infringement
- Count III: False Designation of Origin Pursuant to § 43(a) of the Lanham Act
- Count IV: Common Law Trademark Infringement
- Count V: Civil Action under Indiana Code § 34-24-3-1 for Recovery of Damages, Costs, and Fees Arising from Defendants’ Conversion in Violation of Indiana Code § 35-43-4-3
- Count VI: Civil Action under Indiana Code § 34-24-3-1 for Recovery of Damages, Costs, and Fees Arising from Defendants’ Forgery in Violation of Indiana Code § 35-43-5-2(b)
- Count VII: Civil Action under Indiana Code § 34-24-3-1 for Recovery of Damages, Costs, and Fees Arising from Defendants’ Counterfeiting in Violation of Indiana Code § 35-43-5-2(a)
- Count VIII: Civil Action under Indiana Code § 34-24-3-1 for Recover [sic] of Damages, Costs and Fees Arising from Defendants’ Theft in Violation of Indiana Code § 35-43-4-2
- Count IX: Civil Action under Indiana Code § 34-24-3-1 for Recovery of Damages, Costs and Fees Arising from Defendants’ Criminal Mischief in Violation of Indiana Code § 35-43-1-2
Plaintiffs ask the court for statutory damages of $2 million for each counterfeit as well as injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.
The case was assigned to District Judge Richard L. Young and Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker in the Southern District and assigned Case No. 1:16-cv-03379-RLY-TAB.