Case Law Summaries

State v. Marchiani

• Opinion Date: February 2, 2001
• Business Law
• E-Mail

TRADEMARKS—New Jersey’s Trademark Counterfeiting Act is violated even if consumers know that a trademark is counterfeit.

Two individuals were indicted by a grand jury for selling merchandise bearing counterfeit trademarks (i.e., “knock-offs”) in violation of the Trademark Counterfeiting Act, N.J.S. 2C:21-32 (TCA). The individuals admitted that they sold merchandise with counterfeit trademarks, but argued that their customers knew that the merchandise was counterfeit. The lower court sided with the individuals and concluded that the TCA only protected immediate customers from fraud or deceit and did not protect the trademark owners or other subsequent buyers of the merchandise. The State appealed. The Appellate Division began by recognizing that the TCA broadly provides that “a person commits the offense of counterfeiting who, with the intent to deceive or defraud some other person, knowingly manufactures, uses, displays, advertises, distributes, offers for sale, sells, or possesses with intent to sell or distribute within, or in conjunction with commercial activities within New Jersey, any item, or services, bearing, or identified by, a counterfeit mark.” The State argued that the phrase “some other person” applied not only to consumers or potential future consumers, but also to the owners whose trademarks were counterfeited. The Appellate Division concurred on the basis that the statute was clear on its face; that is, the phrase “some other person” could mean future consumers or trademark owners, and that this conclusion was supported by legislative history.

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