Swarovski Aktiengesellschaft v. Building #19, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
704 F.3d 44 (2013)

- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Swarovski Aktiengesellschaft (plaintiff) was a world-famous manufacturer of trademarked crystal figurines and jewelry. Building #19, Inc. (defendant) was a discount retailer. When a tornado damaged a warehouse stocked with Swarovski crystal, Building #19 bought the inventory and advertised it for public sale. The advertisements described how genuine Swarovski crystal came into Building #19’s possession, prominently displayed both the Swarovski and Building #19 trademarks, and carried a disclaimer denying that Swarovski either endorsed the sale or was affiliated with Building #19. Swarovski sued for trademark infringement. The federal district court ruled that Building #19 failed to establish fair use and granted Swarovski’s motion for a preliminary injunction to restrict Building #19’s use of the Swarovski trademark. On appeal to the First Circuit, Building #19 argued that the district court failed to make the necessary findings that Building #19’s use of the Swarovski trademark was likely to confuse consumers and cause Swarovski irreparable harm.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.