MIAMI – Sept. 17, 2015 – International law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A. was honored at the Daily Business Review’s Florida Verdicts Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony Sept. 10 at The Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne, Florida.
Greenberg Traurig shareholders Richard D. Harris, Cameron M. Nelson and Marlene K. Silverman were recognized in the Intellectual Property category for their work in Habersham Plantation Corp. v. Art & Frame Direct Inc.
In this case, plaintiffs Habersham Plantation Corp. and Investment Partnership sued Art & Frame Direct Inc., Global Importing Inc., Decorator's Reserve Inc., Closing Forever LLC, Art & Frame Direct/Timeless Industries Georgia Inc., The Liquidation Station Inc. and World of Decor Inc. for copyright, trademark and trade dress violations, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The plaintiffs claimed that Habersham’s furniture designs had unique, nonfunctional ornamentation and designs that contributed to a unique look and style—that had become distinctive in the furniture marketplace, and that had been copyrighted.
The jury rejected defendants’ contentions that they were merely using historical designs that had long been in the public domain and who further argued that the defendants themselves did not manufacture the claimed infringing furniture, but only purchased it from a foreign manufacturer who was responsible for the conception, design and manufacture of the furniture in question.
Induction into Daily Business Review's Florida Verdicts Hall of Fame is based solely on four years of data from cases submitted to the Verdict Search, an affiliate of the DBR. The cases were ranked by size of the verdict. The dollar value listed indicates that returned by the judge or jury or reported in the settlement. It does not include legal fees, prejudgment interest or any other adjustments.