Landlords whose tenants sell counterfeit goods can be liable for trademark infringement if they have knowledge of the infringing acts or are willfully blind to the infringement.
In Luxottica Group v. Airport Mini Mall, LLC, 932 F.3d 1303 (11th Cir. August 2019), Oakley, Inc. and its parent Luxottica sued the owners of a shopping mall in Georgia for contributory trademark infringement under the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §1114). Luxottica and Oakley make and sell high-end sunglasses under the Ray-Ban and Oakley trademarks. The defendants owned and managed an indoor mall, and subleased space in several hundred booths in the mall to vendors of various products. The defendants were aware of three raids by law enforcement of certain booths that sold counterfeit sunglasses; in which thousands of items bearing Luxottica’s trademarks were seized. The vendors were selling the infringing eyewear for $15 to $20, while Luxottica’s eyewear sold for $140 to $220.
The defendants received copies of the search warrants and knew which booths had been raided. Luxottica sent two letters to the defendants, informing them that certain of their subtenants were selling counterfeit sunglasses. After the lawsuit was filed, the defendants met with law enforcement and discussed the subtenants’ sales of counterfeit Oakley products.
At no time, however...
