7th Circuit Remands Kangol Trademark Suit Over China Service

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on May 29 vacated a district court judgment in favor of Kangol LLC in a trademark infringement and counterfeiting action against Hangzhou Chuanyue Silk Import & Export Co., Ltd. and other e-commerce vendors. The panel held that email service on the Chinese defendant was improper under the Hague Service Convention but remanded the case to the Northern District of Illinois to determine whether the convention applies because the defendant's address may be unknown.

Kangol had sued multiple Chinese vendors in a Schedule A proceeding alleging Lanham Act violations. The district court had permitted email service, leading to a default judgment. The appeals court clarified that bypass of the convention requires a finding that the address is unknown, directing further proceedings on that factual issue.

The decision affects numerous similar counterfeiting cases involving Chinese defendants and service methods in U.S. trademark enforcement actions.