Case 1:13-cv-01215-TSC Document 239 Filed 03/31/22 Page 14 of 47
Plaintiffs seek to permanently enjoin Defendant from all reproduction, display, or distribution of Plaintiffs’ standards and all use of Plaintiffs’ trademarks. See Pls.’ 2d MSJ at 38. “A preliminary injunction is ‘an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the [movant] is entitled to such relief.’” John Doe. Co. v. Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, 849 F.3d 1129, 1131 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (alteration in original) (quoting Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008)). A “plaintiff seeking a permanent injunction must satisfy a four-factor test before a court may grant such relief.” eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388, 391 (2006). Specifically, a plaintiff must show that: (1) it has suffered or will suffer an irreparable injury; (2) remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury; (3) weighing the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a remedy in equity is warranted; and (4) the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction. Id. See also Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U.S. 139, 162 (2010) (finding permanent injunction not warranted because, “[m]ost importantly,” respondent failed to show “any present or imminent risk of likely irreparable harm”).
III. ANALYSIS
- A. Copyright Infringement
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution empowers Congress “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8. So empowered, the first Congress enacted the Copyright Act of 1790, granting authors of certain works “the sole right and liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing and vending” those works “for the term of fourteen years.” Act of May 31, 1790, § 1, 1 Stat. 124.
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