They’re 88% of all trademark cases

Famous brands and performers are filling the trademark docket of certain district courts hoping to stop counterfeiters from infringing their marks. The defendants are foreign entities selling allegedly counterfeit products via online platforms, under aliases.

The plaintiff brands sue hundreds of counterfeiters as undisclosed defendants listed in a "Schedule A" exhibit, joined in a single lawsuit, seeking to take down listings, remove websites and freeze assets in e-commerce accounts.

With assembly-line precision and speed, the plaintiffs succeed virtually every time. This success and predictability has led to a dramatic increase in the number of these cases filed.

While some judges are starting to curtail these efforts, lawyers for these brands continue to file them on a daily basis.

The Pattern of Undisclosed Defendant Cases

The volume and growth of filings is significant. So far this year, 88% of the trademark cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois are against Schedule A defendants. Ten years ago, the Schedule A cases made up approximately 25% of that docket, and 15 years ago, plaintiffs filed, at best, a handful of these cases each year.

A close look suggests there is an infrastructure and pattern to this litigation, so much so that multiple law firms in the Northern District of Illinois now prosecute these claims. Additionally, firms in other jurisdictions have started bringing these cases, most notably in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where Schedule A cases comprise almost one-third of its trademark docket. These plaintiffs also file design patent and copyright claims of a similar nature, but trademark infringement is by far the most popular cause of action.

Each Schedule A case follows a similar pattern. A case filed by Nike in April illustrates the pattern well.