It is *usually* exciting for damages experts when the Supreme Court issues an opinion on an intellectual property matter! We emphasize “usually” because, in this instance, nothing really exciting emerged from this decision.

The Supreme Court held that a “plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit is not required to show that a defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff’s trademark as a precondition to a profits award.”

Opposing arguments appear not to have established much traction:

While this decision resolves this specific dispute, it appears effectively to confirm the typical assumptions experts have afforded damages in Lanham Act cases. But the Supreme Court decided the matter, and thus it merits a post.