Patricia’s Italian Restaurateur Alleges Holmdel Location Continues to Infringe on Trademarks

The founder of a successful Italian restaurant in The Bronx, New York, Patricia Borgognone filed a complaint on Monday against the New Jersey-based restaurant known as Patricia’s Italian, alleging that it infringed on the plaintiff’s trademarks. The plaintiff provided her son, Salvatore Borgognone, a license to use those trademarks when he and a business partner opened Patricia’s restaurant in Holmdel, New Jersey. But when a 2016 business dispute soured and Salvatore cut ties with the New Jersey operation, Patricia Borgognone rescinded the Holmdel restaurant’s license to use the trademarks but allowed her son to use them when he recently opened two additional Patricia’s restaurants in Toms River and Beachwood, New Jersey. However, the plaintiff claims Brusco and the Holmdel restaurant still illegally maintain its trademarks.

Takeaway: Copyright and trademark infringement claims involving restaurants seem to be a growing area of law around the country. Nearly 210 different suits filed this year in federal courts nationwide allege the copyrighted or trademarked materials of restaurant groups have been infringed upon, by competitors, independent businesses or proprietors and other organizations. Damages sought by plaintiffs bringing these cases often range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. But in certain instances, damages can venture into millions of dollars.

Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Case Type: Copyright and trademark infringement

Industry: Restaurants

Lawyers: Cole Schotz in Hackensack, New Jersey, is representing Borgognone. Counsel for Patricia’s in Holmdel has not yet entered an appearance in this case.

Liability Arguments: Borgognone, a Staten Island, New York, restaurateur, claims Patricia’s of Holmdel, New Jersey, willfully infringed on her registered trademarks starting in 2016, when a business dispute between her son Salvatore and his partner, Brusco, led to the former’s exile from the family restaurant business. As a result, Borgognone revoked the license of her trademarks for the Holmdel restaurant, but, according to the complaint, Brusco continued to use those trademarks in his operation of the Holmdel restaurant for the following nine years, even after being told not to on several occasions, both in person and in writing. As a result, Borgognone claims that she suffered financial and reputational damages.

Damages Arguments: Borgognone is asking for injunctive relief preventing the defendant from further use of the plaintiff’s trademarks, the destruction of all paraphernalia featuring the alleged infringed-upon trademarks, an accounting of its sales and profits resulting from its alleged unlawful conduct and a financial award of same, all nonmonetary and monetary damages, including, without limitation, treble damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, among other things.

What the lawyers are saying: David S. Gold and Elizabeth A. Carbone of Cole Schotz are representing Borgognone but did not immediately return a request for comment. The defendant restaurant also had not returned a request for comment by the time of publication.

To read the full article, please click here.