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A jury in U.S. District Court in South Bend earlier this month awarded recreational vehicle manufacturer Forest River Inc. a $2 million judgment in its trademark infringement case against Elkhart County rival inTech Trailers Inc.
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP announced the verdict in favor of its client Forest River.
The jury found that inTech willfully infringed Forest River’s Della Terra and mountain design trademarks through the sale of its “Terra” brand travel trailers, Taft said in a news release
Forest River and its East to West division have been selling Della Terra brand travel trailers since 2018.
According to Forest River, inTech Trailers began offering and selling a “Terra” travel trailer in late 2020 bearing a mountain design that was similar to the mountain design used by East to West on all of its travel trailers, including its Della Terra travel trailer.
Forest River, through Taft, immediately demanded that inTech cease and desist from infringing its trademark rights. inTech refused, and the lawsuit followed.
At summary judgment, the court first ruled in Forest River’s favor and held that Forest River had protectable rights on its Della Terra and mountain design trademarks.
Then, following a five-day trial, the jury further found that inTech willfully infringed Forest River’s trademark rights. The jury awarded Forest River $2 million in damages.
The court also entered a permanent injunction enjoining inTech from further infringement and requiring inTech to take affirmative steps to remove “Terra” travel trailers from the marketplace.
inTech counsel Brandie Ecker of Throne Grodnik LLP could not immediately be reached for comment. But in a statement released to trade publication RV Business after the verdict, inTech argued that it began selling its Terra travel trailers the year prior to Forest River.
The company also announced the inTech Terra has now been branded as “Aucta,” and it requested that any RV dealers with the Terra product on their lots remove the Terra and mountain graphic decals. Owners of Terra products also were encouraged to visit their dealers for replacement decals.
The winning Taft legal team on the case included Philip Bautista, JoZeff Gebolys, Tracy Betz, and Mick Terrell.
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