Nike Owes Fees in Trademark Suit After Special Master Report

Nike Inc. owes attorneys’ fees for engaging in unreasonable litigation tactics against Lontex Corp. in a trademark infringement lawsuit, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled after revisiting the issue on remand from an appeals court.

Judge Michael M. Baylson affirmed special master Jane Greenspan’s report and recommendation, which found it’s appropriate to award Lontex attorneys’ fees under the Lanham Act, according to a memorandum opinion issued Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Baylson erred in his initial finding Nike’s strategy wasn’t unreasonable, he said, and Greenspan correctly detailed instances of Nike’s “overly aggressive” pretrial ...