Terms Used In Florida Statutes 495.141

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Mark: includes any trademark, service mark, certification mark, or collective mark entitled to registration under this chapter, whether or not registered. See Florida Statutes 495.011
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Registrant: means the person to whom the registration of a mark under this chapter is issued and the legal representatives, successors, or assigns of such person. See Florida Statutes 495.011
  • Use: means the bona fide use of a mark in the ordinary course of trade and not used merely for the purpose of reserving a right in a mark. See Florida Statutes 495.011

(1) Any owner of a mark registered under this chapter may proceed by suit to enjoin the manufacture, use, display, or sale of any counterfeits or imitations thereof and any court of competent jurisdiction may grant injunctions to restrain such manufacture, use, display or sale as may be by the said court deemed just and reasonable, and may require the defendants to pay to such owner all profits derived from and/or all damages suffered by reason of such wrongful manufacture, use, display, or sale and to pay the costs of the action; and such court may also order that any such counterfeits or imitations in the possession or under the control of any defendant in such case be delivered to an officer of the court, or to the complainant, to be destroyed. In assessing profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove defendant’s sales only; defendant must prove all elements of cost or deduction claimed. In assessing damages the court may enter judgment, according to the circumstances of the case, for any sum above the amount found as actual damages, not exceeding three times such amount. If the court shall find that the amount of the recovery based on profits is either inadequate or excessive the court may in its discretion enter judgment for such sum as the court shall find to be just, according to the circumstances of the case. Such sum in either of the above circumstances shall constitute compensation and not a penalty. The court may also award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party according to the circumstances of the case.
(2) The enumeration of any right or remedy herein shall not affect a registrant‘s right to prosecute under any penal law of this state.
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