Spin Master Ltd. Wins Infringement Lawsuit

Playthings Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 11/8/2012 8:43:36 AM

TORONTO - Spin Master Ltd. reported that a Los Angeles jury unanimously found Zobmondo!! Entertainment LLC, and its owner Randall Horn ("Zobmondo"), liable for willfully infringing on Spin Master Ltd.'s WOULD YOU RATHER...? trademark.

For years, Zobmondo sold board games, books and card games under the WOULD YOU RATHER...? brand, created by Justin Heimberg and David Gomberg, the authors of the best-selling WOULD YOU RATHER...? series of books, according to Spin Master, which was in violation of the trademark rights of Spin Master Ltd. and Messrs. Heimberg and Gomberg. Following a two-week trial, a jury reached a verdict awarding Spin Master Ltd. $5.1 million in compensatory damages with an additional $3.5 million in punitive damages after finding that Zobmondo acted with malice, oppression, or fraud. The action further affirming the validity of Spin Master Ltd.'s WOULD YOU RATHER...? trademark, according to Spin Master.

"This victory is important for Spin Master Ltd. and inventors who respect trademark rights. Though we did not want to have to enforce this trademark through litigation, we had no choice but to protect a brand that Justin Heimberg and David Gomberg created over fifteen years ago and that was wrongfully taken from them by Zobmondo," said Christopher Harrs, senior vice president and general counsel, Spin Master Ltd., in a statement. "We are thankful for the jury's service and for their verdict, which recognized that Zobmondo's conduct was willful and wrong."

Gomberg added, "We have fought to protect this brand for over a decade and always believed that a jury would vindicate our rights in the end. For many years, it has been very difficult to get our products accepted by retail because of Zobmondo's sales of infringing products. We expect that will change now that the jury has spoken."
http://www.spinmaster.com/