The ruling resolves the equitable relief phase of a dispute in which the court previously held USA Masters Weightlifting liable for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and violations of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
The court found that USA Weightlifting satisfied the four-factor test for a permanent injunction, noting a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm due to the established liability for trademark violations.
The court determined that monetary damages were inadequate because USA Masters Weightlifting ignored two demand letters and continued its infringing activities throughout the litigation.
Weighing the hardships, the court noted that USA Weightlifting had spent decades building the recognition of its marks, while USA Masters Weightlifting faced no hardship in ceasing its unauthorized use.
The public interest in preventing consumer confusion and deception further supported the injunction.
The order permanently enjoins USA Masters Weightlifting and its affiliates from using the "USA WEIGHTLIFTING MARKS" or any confusingly similar marks in commerce, as corporate names, or in website URLs.
The court also ordered the immediate destruction of all unauthorized materials bearing the disputed marks and required USA Masters Weightlifting to transfer ownership of the domains www.mastersweightlifting.org and www.usamastersweightlifting.com to USA Weightlifting.
USA Masters Weightlifting must file a sworn compliance report within thirty days, and the court retained jurisdiction to enforce the order and determine damages separately.