Costco Owes Tiffany More Than $19 Million, Judge Rules
The rings in question had a pronged setting that Costco said is “commonly known as a ‘Tiffany’ setting,” however, some
of the display cases simply described the rings as “Tiffany” instead of “Tiffany setting” or “Tiffany style.”
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled on Monday that Tiffany is entitled to $11.1 million as profits for trademark infringement, plus interest,
and $8.25 million in punitive damages, which was awarded by a jury in October.
A federal district court judge has ordered Costco to pay Tiffany more than $19 million
for selling generic diamond engagement rings that were marketed using Tiffany’s name.
Furthermore, the salespeople “were not perturbed when customers who then realized
that the rings were not actually manufactured by Tiffany expressed anger or upset,” Judge Swain wrote
Judge Swain also said Costco was permanently prohibited from using “Tiffany” as a stand-alone term when selling its products.
