Supercell Oy, the Finnish developer behind Brawl Stars — a multiplayer game in which players pick characters with special abilities, called Brawlers, to battle against other players using a combination of strategy and teamwork — sued the sellers in the Southern District of New York in March 2025, alleging they used its registered trademarks without authorization to manufacture, import, advertise, and sell counterfeit products including apparel, keychains, stationery, accessories, backpacks, and plush toys. The sellers allegedly operated storefronts on Alibaba and AliExpress, platforms that allow Chinese merchants to sell directly to U.S. consumers.
The Brawl Stars Marks at issue are U.S. Trademark Registration Nos. 5,567,901 for "BRAWL STARS" and 6,914,997 for "BRAWL," both covering goods in Classes 16, 25, and 28.
None of the defaulting defendants answered the complaint. Judge Vernon S. Broderick granted judgment in favor of Supercell Oy on the first and second causes of action — trademark infringement and counterfeiting claims — and dismissed the third and fourth causes of action without prejudice. The court referred the damages question to Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo for an inquest.
The permanent injunction bars the defaulting defendants from manufacturing, importing, advertising, or selling any products bearing the Brawl Stars Marks or confusingly similar marks, and from operating their merchant storefronts in violation of the order. It also freezes their assets held at PayPal, Alibaba Group's payment services (including Alipay.com Co., Ltd. and Ant Financial Services Group), Payoneer, and PingPong Global Solutions, and requires them to surrender all counterfeit products and related materials for destruction under 15 U.S.C. § 1118. The court dissolved the automatic 30-day enforcement stay under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 62(a), finding sufficient cause to do so.
Not all named defendants were subject to the default judgment; the order distinguishes between the full defendant list and the subset of defaulting defendants against whom judgment was entered.
The court released a $5,000 security bond to plaintiff's counsel, Epstein Drangel LLP. Damages remain to be determined.