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Trial in Tiffany v. Costco Case Postponed
The trial phase in the ongoing legal battle between Tiffany & Co. and Costco over the warehouse club’s sale of rings falsely labeled as Tiffany has been pushed back until June.
New York-- The trial phase in the ongoing legal battle between Tiffany & Co. and Costco over the warehouse club’s sale of rings falsely labeled as Tiffany has been pushed back until June.
The trial, which will determine monetary damages in the case, originally was set to begin this past Monday (Jan. 11) but court documents show that the two parties remain at odds over exactly how many rings Costco sold as having a “Tiffany” setting.
Tiffany has argued, and the court has agreed, that it was about 2,500.
Costco has countered, however, that it was fewer, contending that some of those sales should be excluded because they lie outside the statute of limitations in the case, or were made after Costco quit putting “Tiffany” on its signage.
It is asking the court to reconsider its stance on the matter.
As the debate over Costco’s ring signage continues, court records shows that both Tiffany and Costco had asked the court to start the trial sometime after March 28.
In an order dated Jan. 7, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the court’s next available date after March 28 is June 13.
Tiffany filed suit against Costco on Valentine’s Day 2013, accusing the warehouse club of trademark infringement and trademark counterfeiting for selling rings in its stores labeled as having a Tiffany setting that weren’t made by Tiffany & Co.
Costco fired back with a counterclaim that contended the term “Tiffany setting” had become generic, and could be used to describe any setting with multiple slender prongs holding a single gemstone.
In September, Judge Swain ruled in Tiffany’s favor, granting the jeweler’s motions for summary judgement on claims of trademark infringement and trademark counterfeiting while simultaneously dismissing Costco’s generic claims.
Costco’s motion for an interim appeal in the case was denied in November.
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