Tort Partners: Infringement & Defamation?

Do you know what torts often go together? Trademark infringement and defamation are often the unholy tort partners in intellectual property complaints.

What happens is this: a company files a complaint against another company for trademark infringement, and then the defendant files a cross-complaint, alleging that they were defamed by the infringement claim and surrounding publicity.

If you are involved in a trademark infringement lawsuit where there is a counter-complaint that includes allegations of defamation, you may need a unique expert witness to help you.

Internet search statistics indicate that there has been an increase in consumer searches for “defamation attorneys” and “defamation lawyers” in the last few years, as per this article just published at Defamation Expert Witness.

Interestingly, Google Trends is also showing that searches for “trademark infringement” have increased in recent years, following a similar trendline pattern as that of searches for “internet defamation.”

“Trademark Infringement” searches vs. “Internet Defamation” searches. Source: Google Trends

Chris Silver Smith has served on multiple high-profile trademark infringement lawsuits and also multiple defamation lawsuits.

So, if you are a plaintiff in a trademark infringement lawsuit, he could be an asset to your case, while also helping to rebut the defendant’s defamation claims, or help ensure the defendant’s defamation damages are not overblown.

Alternatively, if you are a defendant in a trademark infringement lawsuit who is countersuing the plaintiff for defamation, Smith could help in establishing your scope of consumer exposure and associated damages, while also limiting exposure on infringement claims.

Either way, the Trademark Infringement Expert Witness may be your best bet. Having an expert who can work in multiple capacities can save you from needing multiple experts.