United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co., 386 U.S. 714 (1967)

Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co.

No. 214

Argued February 14, 1967

Decided May 8, 1967

386 U.S. 714

Syllabus

Respondents were held to have deliberately infringed petitioners' Lanham Act trademark rights. The District Court then awarded petitioners reasonable attorney's fees, relying upon case authority to the effect that such an award is permissible when the infringement is "deliberate." The Court of Appeals, having granted an interlocutory appeal, reversed. The Lanham Act provides, in § 35, for compensatory recovery measured by the defendant's profits accruing from his infringement, the costs of the action, and damages which may be trebled in appropriate circumstances.

Held: Attorney's fees are not recoverable under the Lanham Act. The meticulous statutory provisions set forth in § 35 are exclusive of any other monetary remedies for violation of rights protected by the Act. Pp. 386 U. S. 717-721.

359 F.2d 156, affirmed.