In a twist worthy of a courtroom drama, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a trademark infringement and counterfeiting lawsuit brought by speaker giant Altec Lansing against a U.S. importer accused of selling unauthorized branded products sourced from a Chinese manufacturer.
At the heart of the revived case is a murky chain of speaker sales—and whether Shenzhen Fenda Technology Co. Ltd. had any legal right to produce Altec Lansing-branded speakers without the company’s consent.
Appeals Panel Questions Summary Judgment
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel unanimously sent the case back to the Southern District of New York, effectively reversing an August 2023 summary judgment in favor of defendant Crown Cell Inc. The panel found that plaintiff AL Infinity LLC, the entity that owns Altec Lansing’s brand, had raised a “genuine dispute” about whether the speakers at issue were made with authorization.
“AL Infinity’s principal asserted by sworn affidavit that AL Infinity owned the Altec Lansing brand and had not consented to Fenda’s production,” the panel said. “These models hadn’t been in AL Infinity’s line since its 2012 acquisition, nor in the prior owner’s line for years before.”
