Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc.

Summary

The Court held that willfulness is not an absolute prerequisite to recovering a defendant’s profits for trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. §1125(a), although the defendant’s mental state remains a highly important consideration. Justice Gorsuch’s opinion relied on the Lanham Act’s text and structure and rejected the argument that historical equitable practice imposed a categorical willfulness requirement. The Court vacated the court of appeals’ judgment and remanded. Justice Alito, joined by Justices Breyer and Kagan, concurred, emphasizing that historical authorities make willfulness highly important but not indispensable. Justice Sotomayor concurred in the judgment only, agreeing that willfulness is not a statutory prerequisite but maintaining that awarding profits for innocent or good-faith infringement would conflict with equitable principles.