Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 1 of 15 Page ID #:1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Michael Machat, Esq. MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 Telefax: (310) 860-1837 Email: Michael@machatlaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiff PETER BECKETT 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 PETER BECKETT ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) ) KEITH URBAN, GUITAR MONKEY ) ENTERTAINMENT INC., and HSN, ) INC., ) ) Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT; UNFAIR COMPETITION; and DILUTION DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL follows: I. 26 28 COMPLAINT FOR For his Complaint, Plaintiff PETER BECKETT hereby alleges and asserts as 25 27 CASE NO. 1. JURISDICTION AND VENUE Plaintiff brings this action for injunctive relief and damages arising out of the unauthorized, unfair, and deceptive competitive practices of Defendants, and 1 each of them, in connection with the commercial use and exploitation of trademarks 2 in violation of the Lanham Act. 3 2. This action arises under the Trademark Laws of the United States, 4 including particularly, Sections 32 and 43 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114 5 and 1125. Jurisdiction is conferred on this Court by 15 U.S.C. Section 1121(a), by 6 28 U.S.C. Section 1338(a), in that this case arises under the Trademark Laws of the 7 United States, 15 U.S.C. Sections 1051, et seq., and by principles of pendent 8 jurisdiction. Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 (b) and (c) as 9 Defendants transact business in Los Angeles County, California, and a substantial 10 part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred within this District. 11 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 2 of 15 Page ID #:2 12 II. THE PARTIES 13 14 15 16 3. Plaintiff PETER BECKETT resides in Los Angeles County, California. 4. Defendant HSN, Inc., (“Home Shopping Network”) is upon 17 information and belief a Delaware Corporation doing business throughout the 18 United Stated, including the county of Los Angeles. 19 5. Defendant Guitar Monkey Entertainment, Inc. (“Guitar Monkey”) is, 20 upon information and belief, a Tennessee Corporation that operates throughout the 21 United States, including throughout Los Angeles County, California. 22 6. Defendant Keith Urban is a singer songwriter guitarist entrepreneur 23 and music competition judge. Upon information and belief, defendant Keith Urban 24 is the principal owner of defendant Guitar Monkey and the prime mover 25 responsible for the torts described herein. Upon information and belief, defendant 26 Keith Urban regularly travels to Los Angeles County for business. 27 28 7. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that each of the named Defendants in this case were the agents, servants, employees and/or 2 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 3 of 15 Page ID #:3 1 attorneys of their co-Defendants, and in doing the things hereinafter alleged were 2 acting within the course and scope of their authority as those agents, servants, 3 employees and/or attorneys, and with the permission and consent of their 4 co-Defendants, and are therefore jointly and severally liable. 5 6 7 III. FACTS GIVING RISE TO THIS ACTION 8 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 9 8. Plaintiff Peter Beckett is a rock singer songwriter guitarist and has 10 recorded popular hits and performed those popular hits as PLAYER. 11 Beckett’s band PLAYER is most well known for the song, “Baby Come Back” 12 written by Peter Beckett and JC Crowley in 1977. 13 became an international hit, reaching number one in the Billboard Charts for three 14 weeks in January 1978. 15 Peter Beckett went on performing as PLAYER throughout the world playing in 16 large music venues headlining and co-headlining with major bands such as Heart 17 and Eric Clapton. 18 “Baby Come Back”, and the songs recorded and performed by Peter Beckett’s 19 PLAYER continue to be played to this day, appearing in commercials, on television 20 shows and movies, and are played frequently on radio stations. As a result the 21 name PLAYER has become well known throughout the world as a Rock Band. 22 9. Peter By 1978 “Baby Come Back” The song catapulted PLAYER to worldwide fame, and Peter Beckett’s PLAYER went on to have other hits besides In April of 2014, Peter Beckett filed a trademark application for 23 PLAYER in international classes 009 and 041 for audio and video recordings 24 featuring music and artistic performances by a rock band, and Entertainment 25 services in the nature of live audio performances by a rock band, respectively. 26 10. On November 18, 2014, the United States Patent & Trademark Office 27 granted Peter Beckett trademark registration number 4640664 for his mark 28 PLAYER. 3 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 4 of 15 Page ID #:4 1 songs such as “Stupid Boy”, “But for the Grace of God”, “Once in a Lifetime”, and 3 “Sweet Thing.” Defendant Keith Urban is also a Judge on American Idol. 4 12. Approximately one month after Peter Beckett filed his trademark 5 application for his world famous mark PLAYER, in May of 2014, defendant Guitar 6 Monkey filed three trademark applications for KEITH URBAN PLAYER in 7 international classes 009, 015 and 041 for prerecorded electronic music featuring 8 instructions on playing guitars, for acoustic and electric guitars and for 9 Entertainment services in the nature of television programing whereby viewers are 11 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 Defendant Keith Urban is a singer songwriter guitarist famous for 2 10 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 11. informed of various goods that can be purchased by the viewer, respectively. 13. Upon information and belief defendant Guitar Monkey filed for the 12 aforementioned trademark registrations upon the instructions and behest of 13 defendants Keith Urban and Home Shopping Network shortly after the airing of an 14 episode of NBC’s daytime soap “General Hospital” in which Peter Beckett’s 15 PLAYER was written into the script as a central element and in which Peter 16 Beckett’s PLAYER performed the PLAYER song “Baby Come Back.” 17 14. Upon information and belief, one of the defendants, on behalf of all 18 the defendants, purchased a web address of: PlayerbyKeithUrban.com on or about 19 April 18, 2014. 20 15. The website PlayerbyKeithUrban.com is an ecommerce store that sells 21 a guitar line of products including a guitar learning kit that touts its ability to teach 22 consumers how to play 30 songs in as little as 30 days. 23 features images of defendant Keith Urban playing a guitar and promoting his guitar 24 line of products. 25 PLAYER BY KEITH URBAN. 26 16. The website prominently The website also prominently brands the kit as PLAYER and/or The website PlayerbyKeithUrban.com appears to be controlled by 27 defendant Home Shopping Network. 28 website says copyright 2015 HSN, Inc. The copyright notice on the footer of the 4 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 5 of 15 Page ID #:5 1 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 In December of 2014, defendant Home Shopping Network began 2 selling and advertising the infringing PLAYER BY KEITH URBAN on television 3 and possibly elsewhere. 4 18. Upon information and belief, defendants have sold more than One 5 Million Dollars worth of the infringing PLAYER BY KEITH URBAN product via 6 advertisements using Plaintiff Peter Beckett’s mark PLAYER. 7 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 17. 19. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff alleges that originally when 8 defendants began selling their guitar line of products, the original name for it was 9 simply URBAN and/or LIGHT THE FUSE and/or PHOENIX or some combination 10 of these names. 11 40,000 units of these systems under these alternative names, but defendants wanted 12 to sell even more. 13 20. Upon information and belief, defendants sold approximately Upon information and belief, Plaintiff alleges that each of the 14 defendants knew of Plaintiff’s band named PLAYER; they each had heard the 15 PLAYER branded recording of “Baby Come Back” numerous times over and over; 16 and they each decided to go ahead and change the name of their guitar line and 17 guitar learning package to PLAYER in order to sell more units. Defendants went 18 forward with their plans to advertise, market and sell their infringing product 19 bearing the word PLAYER, completely disregarding the rights Plaintiff Peter 20 Beckett had built up in the mark PLAYER and disregarding the hard work and 21 sweat Plaintiff put into creating his mark PLAYER. Defendants simply didn’t care 22 if they blurred or diluted or tarnished or infringed upon Plaintiff’s PLAYER 23 trademark that Plaintiff had worked so hard to create goodwill in over many years. 24 21. If defendants are not stopped from marketing guitar learning kits or 25 guitars or other musical type instruments with the name PLAYER, then consumers 26 will be confused as to the source of origin of defendants’ infringing product and 27 Plaintiff’s music and music services. If defendants are not stopped from marketing 28 products using PLAYER as a trademark, defendants will continue to harm the 5 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 6 of 15 Page ID #:6 1 reputation and good will built up by Plaintiff Peter Beckett in PLAYER, making it 2 more difficult for him to tour and sell records. 3 22. Also, if defendants are not stopped from marketing products under 4 the name PLAYER, it is likely that consumers will become confused about the 5 source and origin of Plaintiff’s music products and services, and 6 conclude that Plaintiff’s products and services are produced by or otherwise 7 associated with Defendant Keith Urban, whose name appears in conjunction with 8 Plaintiffs’ brand name PLAYER. 9 consumers may come to believe that “Baby Come Back” was written and 10 performed by defendant Keith Urban or somehow associated with defendant Keith 11 Urban instead of Plaintiff Peter Beckett. mistakenly If defendants are not stopped, one day 12 13 COUNT I 14 VIOLATION OF LANHAM ACT 15 U.S.C. §1114 15 16 17 18 23. Plaintiff repeats each allegation contained in paragraphs 1 through 22 as though set forth here at length. 24. Defendants have committed trademark infringement of Plaintiff’s 19 trademarks in their deceptive marketing of defendants guitar line of products 20 (including their guitar learning kit) using the name PLAYER. 21 22 23 25. Defendants have induced others to infringe Plaintiff’s trademark and trade name. 26. Defendants have acted with bad intent and culpably in selecting 24 using, and/or approving of the use of Plaintiff’s PLAYER trademark in the 25 distribution, marketing, promotion, advertisement, offering for sale, and/or sale of 26 goods and services. 27 27. Without the knowledge or consent of Plaintiffs, Defendants have 28 marketed and sold in interstate commerce, and in commerce substantially affecting 6 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 7 of 15 Page ID #:7 1 interstate commerce, guitars and/or guitar or music accessory products branded 2 under the name PLAYER, and continue to do so. Defendants have promoted, 3 advertised, offered for sale, and/or sold, guitars and/or guitar or music accessory 4 products using the PLAYER mark through persons not authorized, employed by, or 5 associated in any way with Plaintiff and have used the aforementioned trade name 6 and trademark as false designation and false representation for guitars, guitar 7 accessories and/or music related products. Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 8 28. None of the activities complained of in this complaint have been 9 authorized by Plaintiff, and such unauthorized use by Defendants of Plaintiff’s 10 trademarks and/or trade names in interstate commerce, commerce substantially 11 affecting interstate commerce in this district, and elsewhere throughout the United 12 States, constitutes infringement and an inducement to infringe Plaintiff’s 13 trademarks and/or trade names, and such activities are likely to cause confusion, 14 mistakes, and to deceive the public at large. 15 16 17 18 29. Upon information and belief, Defendants have acted with the unlawful purpose of: a. Improperly taking advantage of the valuable goodwill belonging to Plaintiff; 19 b. Soliciting Plaintiff’s fans and/or potential fans, attempting to sell, 20 and selling to such fans and potential fans, a guitar line of products 21 (including a guitar learning kit) under the PLAYER mark through 22 persons not authorized by, employed by, or associated in any way 23 with Plaintiff; 24 25 c. Inducing others to infringe Plaintiff’s trademark and trade name; and 26 d. Causing the goods of persons not authorized by, employed by, or 27 associated in any way with Plaintiff to be falsely represented as if 28 they were rendered, authorized, sponsored by, endorsed by, or 7 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 8 of 15 Page ID #:8 1 otherwise connected with Plaintiff and its licensed trademarks and 2 trade names. 3 4 5 violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1114. 31. If Defendants are allowed to continue marketing and selling the accused product, Plaintiff will be damaged as alleged in this complaint, and the 7 Defendants will profit thereby. Furthermore, unless the Court permanently enjoins 8 Defendants’ conduct as alleged in this complaint, Plaintiff’s business, goodwill, and 9 reputation will suffer irreparable injury of an insidious and continuing sort that 11 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 Defendants’ conduct, as alleged in this complaint, constitutes a 6 10 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 30. cannot be adequately calculated and compensated in monetary damages. 32. Defendants’ aforementioned acts and conduct is being done 12 willfully and with an intent to ride on, and/or step on and demolish, the goodwill 13 Plaintiff has worked hard to develop. 14 damages arising therefrom, as well as reimbursement of Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees 15 and costs. 16 33. 17 18 Plaintiff is therefore entitled to treble The intentional nature of defendants’ acts makes this an exceptional case under 15 U.S.C. §1117(a). 34. The intentional nature of defendants’ acts and conduct makes this a 19 case suitable for an award of Three Times Defendants’ profits, an amount believed 20 currently to be well in excess of $1,000,000.00 and growing. 21 22 COUNT II 23 VIOLATION OF LANHAM ACT 15 U.S.C. §1125(a) 24 (Against All Defendants) 25 26 27 28 35. Plaintiff repeats each allegation contained in paragraphs 1 through 34 as though set forth here at length. 36. Defendants have engaged in, and continue to engage in, the wrongful exploitation of Plaintiff’s registered PLAYER mark. 8 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 9 of 15 Page ID #:9 1 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 Defendants’ goods are so closely related to Plaintiff’s goods and 2 services that the public is likely to be confused, to be deceived, and to erroneously 3 assume that Defendants’ marketing and sale of their PLAYER guitar and music 4 related products as packaged, advertised and promoted, are those of Plaintiff, or that 5 Defendants are in some way connected with, sponsored by, or affiliated with 6 Plaintiff, all to Plaintiff’s detriment and irreparable damage. 7 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 37. 38. Defendants are not affiliated with, connected with, endorsed by, or 8 sponsored by Plaintiff. Furthermore, Plaintiff has not approved any of the goods or 9 services offered or sold by the Defendants. 10 39. Defendants’ conduct has diluted, 11 PLAYER mark. 12 40. blurred and tarnished Plaintiff’s Defendants’ aforesaid infringing conduct has been willful and done 13 with an intent to ride on, and/or step on and demolish the goodwill Plaintiff has 14 worked hard to develop. Defendants’ aforesaid infringing conduct has been willful 15 and with knowledge that the sale, marketing, advertising, and promotion of their 16 guitar and/or music related products will hurt the prospects of future commercial 17 success of Plaintiff’s PLAYER branded music and touring services. Plaintiff is 18 therefore entitled to treble damages arising therefrom, as well as reimbursement of 19 Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and costs. 20 21 COUNT III 22 VIOLATION OF LANHAM ACT 15 U.S.C. §1125(c) 23 24 25 26 41. Plaintiff repeats each allegation contained in paragraphs 1 through 40 as though set forth here at length. 42. Plaintiff’s PLAYER mark is famous and distinctive. Defendants’ 27 conduct, as alleged in this complaint, is likely to cause dilution of Plaintiff’s 28 famous mark by blurring and/or diluting of Plaintiff’s famous mark by tarnishment, 9 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 10 of 15 Page ID #:10 1 2 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 43. Plaintiff has been damaged by each of the Defendants’ acts as alleged 3 in this complaint, and each defendant has profited thereby. Furthermore, unless the 4 Court permanently enjoins Defendants' conduct as alleged in this complaint, 5 Plaintiffs’ business, goodwill, and reputation will suffer irreparable injury of an 6 insidious and continuing sort that cannot be adequately calculated and compensated 7 in monetary damages. 8 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 and as such violates 15 U.S.C § 1125(c). 44. Defendants’ aforesaid infringing conduct has been willful and done 9 with an intent to ride on the goodwill Plaintiff has worked hard to develop. 10 Plaintiff is therefore entitled to treble damages arising thereof, as well as 11 reimbursement of his attorneys’ fees and costs. 12 13 COUNT IV 14 UNFAIR COMPETITION – COMMON LAW, AND CALIFORNIA 15 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS CODE §§ 17200 et seq. 16 17 18 19 20 45. Plaintiff repeats each allegation contained in paragraphs 1 through 44 as though set forth herein at length. 46. Defendants have engaged in unfair competition perpetrated against Plaintiff by reason of the conduct alleged herein. 21 47. The unlawful and unfair conduct is injuring the goodwill of Plaintiff. 22 48. Defendants are each liable for the unfair competition, and/or are 23 24 25 26 27 28 liable for aiding and abetting such conduct. 49. By this conduct, Plaintiff has directly suffered injuries and each Defendant has been unjustly enriched. 50. Plaintiff is entitled to restitution, the recovery of damages, and the recovery of the profits earned by Defendants by virtue of their conduct. 51. As a consequence of the unfair competition by Defendants, Plaintiff is 10 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 11 of 15 Page ID #:11 1 suffering irreparable injury, by reason of which such conduct should be enjoined. 2 52. Plaintiff is entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees. 3 53. Plaintiff is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that the 4 aforementioned conduct of Defendants is willful, oppressive, fraudulent, and 5 malicious, and Plaintiff is therefore entitled to punitive damages. 6 7 COUNT V 8 UNFAIR COMPETITION – COMMON LAW, CALIFORNIA BUSINESS & 9 PROFESSIONS CODE §§ 17500 et seq. 11 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 10 12 54. Plaintiff repeats each allegation contained in paragraphs 1 through 53 as though set forth herein at length. 13 55. Defendants’ use of the trade names and trademarks PLAYER 14 misrepresents the nature, characteristics, identity, and source or sponsorship of 15 Defendants’ goods, constitutes aiding and abetting liability for deceptive, untrue, 16 and misleading advertising and therefore constitutes a violation of, inter alia, 17 California Business and Professions Code §§17500 et seq. and California common 18 law. 19 56. Defendants’ use of the trade name and trademark PLAYER and related 20 trade dress and trademarks are likely to deceive and will continue to deceive the 21 consuming public. Defendants knew, recklessly disregarded, or reasonably should 22 have known that such packaging, advertising, marketing, and promotion was untrue 23 and/or misleading. 24 57. As a result of the conduct described above, Defendants have been 25 and/or will be unjustly enriched at the expense of Plaintiff and the general public. 26 The interests of the general public and Plaintiff are, therefore, closely related. 27 28 58. Defendants have been unjustly enriched, among other things, by the receipt of sales revenues from consumers who mistakenly thought that they were 11 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 12 of 15 Page ID #:12 1 purchasing Plaintiff’s PLAYER branded music products or accessories both in 2 California and throughout the world, but instead were purchasing Defendants’ 3 goods which are promoted and sold through advertisements that affirmatively 4 misrepresent, either directly or by implication, the nature, characteristics, identity, 5 and source or sponsorship of the goods. Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 6 59. Pursuant to Business and Professions Code §§ 17203 and 17535, 7 Plaintiff, on behalf of himself and the general public, which is unable effectively to 8 assert its interests, seeks an order of this Court ordering Defendants immediately to 9 cease such support for acts of unfair competition and false advertising, and 10 enjoining Defendants from continuing to import or export, distribute, market, 11 promote, advertise, offer for sale, and sell, Defendants’ PLAYER BY KEITH 12 URBAN and/or any good or service that contains any of Plaintiff’s trademarks 13 which falsely advertise or conduct business via the unlawful, deceptive, unfair or 14 fraudulent business acts and practices, and the untrue and misleading advertising 15 complained of herein. 16 Defendants’ ill-gotten gains and restitution of all monies wrongfully acquired by 17 Defendants by means of their support of such acts of unfair competition and false 18 advertising, damages, interest and attorneys’ fees. Plaintiff additionally requests an order disgorging 19 20 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment as follows: 21 22 1. That the Court adjudge and decree that Defendants have falsely 23 designated the origin of certain guitar and/or guitar accessory products as those of 24 Plaintiffs, have made and used false representations in connection with the sale, 25 offering for sale, promotion and advertising of such products, and have unfairly 26 competed with Plaintiffs at common law; 27 28 2. That the Court adjudge and decree that Defendants have infringed 12 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 13 of 15 Page ID #:13 1 Plaintiff’s registered trademark PLAYER; 2 3 4 3. That the Court adjudge and decree that Defendants have infringed upon Plaintiff’s common law rights to the mark PLAYER; 5 6 7 4. That the Court adjudge and decree that Defendants unlawfully diluted, tarnished and diminished Plaintiff’s rights in the PLAYER mark; 8 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 9 5. That the Court permanently enjoin Defendants, their agents, servants, 10 employees, attorneys, and all persons acting in concert or participation with them, 11 or with any of them from: 12 a. Using PLAYER or any other word or words which are similar to, or 13 a colorable imitation of, Plaintiff’s trade name and mark, either 14 alone, as part of, or together with, any other word or words, 15 trademark, service mark, trade name, or other business or 16 commercial designation in connection with the sale, offering for 17 sale, advertising, and/or promotion of music or music related 18 products or services; 19 b. Selling, offering to sell, marketing, distributing, advertising and/or 20 promoting any music or music related product or service with the 21 word PLAYER displayed on the product, its packaging, advertising 22 or promotional materials; 23 c. Representing directly or indirectly by words or conduct that any 24 music or music related product or service offered for sale, sold, 25 promoted, or advertised by Defendants, is authorized, sponsored 26 by, endorsed by, or otherwise connected with Plaintiff; 27 d. Aiding or abetting in unfair competition against Plaintiff; 28 e. Aiding or abetting in false advertising; and 13 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 14 of 15 Page ID #:14 1 f. Inducing others to engage in any of these aforementioned acts. 2 3 6. That the Court award an amount to be determined at trial but at least 4 an amount equivalent to treble the amount of Defendants’ illicit profits or Plaintiff’s 5 lost profits, whichever is greater; 6 7 That the Court award an additional amount to be determined at trial 8 sufficient to cover the costs of prospective corrective advertising, which amount is 9 requested to be at least ten times the amount of advertising dollars spent by 10 defendants; 11 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 7. 12 8. That the Court adjudge and decree that the intentional nature of 13 defendants’ acts and conduct makes this a case suitable for an award of Three 14 Times Defendants’ profits, an amount believed currently to be well in excess of 15 $1,000,000.00 and growing; 16 17 18 9. That the Court adjudge and decree that the intentional nature of defendants’ acts makes this an exception case under 15 U.S.C §1117(a); 19 20 21 10. That the Court award Judgment against Defendants for the full costs of this action, including the attorney’s fees reasonably incurred by Plaintiff; 22 23 24 11. That the Court Order such other, further and different relief as the nature of this action may require and as the Court may deem just and proper; 25 26 12. That the Court retain jurisdiction of this action for the purpose of 27 enabling Plaintiff, in his discretion, to apply to this Court at any time for such 28 further orders and directions as may be necessary or appropriate for the 14 Facsimile: (310) 394-4477 Case 2:15-cv-01407-R-SS Document 1 Filed 02/27/15 Page 15 of 15 Page ID #:15 1 interpretation or execution of any Order entered in this action, for the modification 2 of any such Order, for the enforcement of compliance therewith, and/or for the 3 punishment of any violation thereof. 4 5 Respectfully submitted, 6 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 7 8 26 2015 Dated: February ___, 9 11 Telephone: (310) 860-1833 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 400 Beverly Hills, California 90210 10 Michael Machat By:_________________________ Michael Machat, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiff PETER BECKETT 12 13 14 15 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Plaintiff hereby requests a trial by jury on all issues raised by the Complaint. 16 Respectfully submitted, 17 MACHAT & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 18 19 20 21 22 26 2015 Dated: February ___, Michael Machat By:_______________________ Michael Machat, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiff PETER BECKETT 23 24 25 26 27 28 15