Abitron Austria v. Hetronic International
Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. · 2023 · Supreme Court of the United States
What happened
Hetronic won a large award covering sales made largely outside the United States. The Supreme Court held that the Lanham Act's infringement provisions are not extraterritorial and apply to infringing uses in domestic commerce.
The money
A jury awarded roughly $96 million before the Supreme Court limited the reach of the award.
Reported figures in trademark cases frequently conflate what was sought, what a jury awarded, what survived appeal, and what was actually paid — which is often confidential. Confirm against the docket or a primary source before relying on this number.
What it means for your business
A US registration is a US right. If you sell abroad, you need registrations abroad — and if you are counting on US litigation to police foreign sales, that assumption is now considerably weaker.