AP Pty Ltd. v. Schedule A Defendants: Default Judgment in Design Patent & Counterfeiting Action
Annex Products Pty Ltd. sued a network of anonymous e-commerce sellers for counterfeiting its federally registered design patents, trademarks, and copyrights covering mirror and vibration dampening mounts. The Illinois Northern District Court entered a default judgment of $100,000 in statutory damages with a permanent injunction and platform-level asset freeze — resolved in 188 days.
Annex Products wins default judgment against counterfeit mount sellers
Annex Products Pty Ltd. filed this action on 15 August 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against an unnamed network of e-commerce defendants identified only in Schedule A. The complaint alleged infringement of two federally registered design patents — USD940125S (mirror mount) and USD852681S (vibration dampening mount) — alongside trademark counterfeiting, copyright infringement, and violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Defendants were operating storefronts across major platforms including Amazon, AliExpress, Temu, eBay, Shein, and Walmart, targeting U.S. and Illinois consumers.
None of the named defendants answered or appeared, and the court entered a default judgment on 19 February 2025 — 188 days after filing. Judge John Robert Blakey awarded $100,000 in statutory damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c)(2) and 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2) for willful counterfeiting, issued a permanent injunction, and ordered third-party platforms and payment processors — including PayPal, Stripe, Payoneer, and Shopify — to freeze and transfer restrained funds to plaintiff as partial payment.
The 188-day resolution is consistent with Schedule A default matters, where defendants’ non-appearance accelerates the timeline significantly. The court’s findings of willfulness, grounded in screenshot evidence of active Illinois-targeted storefronts, supported the maximum statutory damages tier. The public record does not reveal how much of the $100,000 award was ultimately recovered from frozen third-party accounts, nor the precise number of defendants covered under Schedule A — details that typically remain sealed in such actions.
Filing to Default Judgment in 188 days
188 days — faster than the median Schedule A counterfeiting case, consistent with uncontested default proceedings
Default judgment entered: what the ruling means for both parties
Default judgment: defendants’ silence becomes admission
When defendants fail to appear or respond, the court may enter default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55. All well-pleaded allegations are deemed admitted. Here, the court found personal jurisdiction, service via electronic publication and email was adequate notice, and willful infringement was established by screenshot evidence — enabling the maximum statutory damages tier for counterfeiting.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 defaultAnnex Products secures injunction, asset freeze, and damages
The judgment delivers a permanent injunction enforceable against the defendants and all third-party platform providers given notice. Frozen funds held by PayPal, Stripe, Amazon, and others must be released to plaintiff within 14 days of order receipt. The $267,000 surety bond is also returned. Plaintiff retains supplemental enforcement rights under Rule 69 to pursue additional accounts if discovered.
Plaintiff win — injunction + recoveryCounterfeit sellers face permanent ban and platform-level asset seizure
Defaulting defendants are permanently enjoined from using Annex Products’ IP across any marketplace or domain. Domain registrars — including GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Name.com — must transfer or disable defendant domains within seven days. All marketplace accounts are frozen. Because the judgment applies per defendant entity (not per alias), the practical recovery may span multiple storefronts operated under different seller names.
Permanent injunction + domain seizureSchedule A default playbook: effective but recovery is uncertain
This case illustrates the standard Schedule A enforcement model — broad multi-platform injunction, statutory damages, and third-party asset freezes obtained without defendant participation. While the legal win is clear, actual monetary recovery depends on how much the defendants held in frozen accounts at time of order. IP holders in consumer hardware and accessories sectors should note the value of maintaining registered design patents and trademarks to access statutory damages without proving actual loss.
Design patent enforcement strategyFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | AP Pty Ltd. | Company | Consumer accessories IP holder — holder of USD940125S and USD852681S design patentsSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified in Schedule A | Individual | Anonymous e-commerce sellers operating counterfeit storefronts across global online marketplacesSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | James Edward Judge | Attorney | Counsel for AP Pty Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Ying Chen | Attorney | Counsel for AP Pty Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Zareefa Burki Flener | Attorney | Counsel for AP Pty Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Flener IP & Business Law | Law Firm | Representing AP Pty Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge John Robert Blakey | Judge | Illinois Northern District CourtSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The default judgment is comprehensive in scope — covering design patent infringement (35 U.S.C. § 271), copyright infringement, willful trademark counterfeiting, false designation of origin, and the Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The court’s willfulness finding, supported by screenshot evidence of active U.S.-targeted storefronts, enabled statutory damages at the enhanced $100,000 ceiling under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c)(2). The single-award provision — applying once regardless of alias count — limits aggregate exposure per defendant entity but preserves proportionality. The judgment’s broad third-party enforcement mechanism effectively converts major marketplace and payment platforms into enforcement agents.
USD940125S & USD852681S — Mirror Mount and Vibration Dampening Mount Designs
USD940125S (App. No. 29/737107) and USD852681S (App. No. 29/648641) are U.S. design patents covering the ornamental design of a mirror mount and a vibration dampening mount, respectively. Design patents protect the non-functional visual appearance of a product — meaning any product that looks substantially similar to a casual observer may infringe, regardless of functional differences. These patents cover hardware products in the consumer accessories and device mounting segment, likely serving the cycling, motorsport, or outdoor activity markets given Annex Products’ brand positioning.
Design patents in the consumer accessories space are strategically valuable precisely because they do not require proof of copying intent — visual similarity to an ordinary observer is the infringement test. For Annex Products, holding two registered design patents across its mount product range creates a strong platform for Schedule A enforcement against anonymous overseas counterfeiters. Competitors developing mount products in adjacent markets should conduct FTO reviews against both patents, as the ornamental scope of design patents can extend to visually similar but independently developed designs.
Should you run an FTO against USD940125S and USD852681S?
Any product team developing mirror mounts, handlebar mounts, vibration dampening mounts, or similar consumer hardware accessories — particularly for cycling, motorsport, or outdoor device mounting — should assess freedom to operate against these two Annex Products design patents. Design patent infringement turns on the ordinary observer test: if an ordinary consumer would mistake your product’s appearance for the patented design, infringement may exist even without intentional copying. The Schedule A enforcement model means you may face injunction and asset freeze without early warning.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map USD940125S and USD852681S against your product’s design features, identify visual similarity risk across design patent claim drawings, and surface the full Annex Products IP portfolio for comprehensive clearance. Eureka’s landscape tools can also reveal how broadly Annex Products has registered design rights internationally — critical for e-commerce sellers operating across multiple jurisdictions who need to assess global exposure, not just U.S. risk.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on USD0940125S to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar design patent and Schedule A counterfeiting cases in the N.D. Illinois
Browse related Schedule A design patent and trademark counterfeiting enforcement actions filed in the Northern District of Illinois against anonymous e-commerce defendants.
Related patent case — similar technology
Comparable case in the same technology domain. Patent holder and defendant reached resolution after proceedings.
SettledRelated infringement action — same court
Comparable Mirror mount-adjacent infringement action. Patent enforcement dynamics analysed in depth.
Active · District CourtRelated invalidity challenge — appellate outcome
Combined invalidity and infringement action in the same technology space. Decided after substantive proceedings.
DecidedAP Pty Ltd.’s broader IP enforcement history
AP Pty Ltd.’s full litigation history covering prior enforcement, licensing activity, and inter partes review proceedings.
Portfolio viewWhat this case signals for the consumer accessories IP landscape
Default judgments against Schedule A sellers are an increasingly common enforcement tool — but the details reveal important strategic and commercial limits.
Design patent registration unlocks statutory damages without proving actual loss
Annex Products’ ability to claim $100,000 per willful violation rested entirely on its registered design patents and trademarks. Without registration, only actual damages are available — which are notoriously difficult to quantify against anonymous overseas sellers. Early and broad IP registration is the foundation of any effective Schedule A enforcement program.
Platform cooperation is essential — and now court-ordered
The judgment’s reach across Amazon, Temu, AliExpress, Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, and others illustrates how Schedule A litigation has become a multi-platform operation. Courts in the Northern District of Illinois have established clear precedent for compelling third-party provider compliance — making this jurisdiction a preferred venue for e-commerce IP enforcement.
Real recovery rates in Schedule A defaults are significantly lower than the award
A $100,000 statutory award does not guarantee $100,000 recovered. Funds frozen at platforms at the moment of the TRO are the ceiling. Sellers who had already withdrawn funds or operated through multiple accounts may have minimal assets. IP holders must act fast — TRO to freeze timing is critical to maximising actual recovery.
Defendant anonymity limits deterrence — repeat infringers exploit the model
Schedule A defendants frequently operate under rotating aliases. A permanent injunction against a seller alias provides limited long-term deterrence when the same operator can re-register under a new name within hours. Supplemental proceedings under Rule 69 — preserved explicitly in this judgment — are a key tool for pursuing operators who resurface, but they require ongoing monitoring investment.
AP v Partnerships — key questions answered
Two U.S. design patents were asserted: USD940125S (Application No. 29/737107), covering a mirror mount design, and USD852681S (Application No. 29/648641), covering a vibration dampening mount design. Both are registered to Annex Products Pty Ltd. and protect the ornamental appearance of consumer mount accessories.
Judge John Robert Blakey entered a default judgment on 19 February 2025 in favour of plaintiff Annex Products Pty Ltd. The court awarded $100,000 in statutory damages for willful trademark counterfeiting and copyright infringement, issued a permanent injunction, ordered domain transfers, and required third-party platforms including Amazon, PayPal, and Stripe to freeze and release defendant funds to plaintiff.
The court awarded $100,000 per the maximum statutory damages tier under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c)(2) and 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2) for willful counterfeiting and copyright infringement. Willfulness was established by screenshot evidence showing defendants operating active e-commerce storefronts targeting U.S. and Illinois consumers with counterfeit Annex Products goods. Default by defendants meant allegations were deemed admitted.
Schedule A cases name anonymous online sellers identified only in a sealed exhibit rather than by name in the public complaint. The plaintiff obtains a temporary restraining order early, which freezes marketplace accounts and compels third-party platforms to provide defendant identity information. If defendants fail to appear — as occurred here — default judgment follows. This model is heavily used in the Northern District of Illinois for e-commerce IP counterfeiting enforcement.
No. Design patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271 uses the ‘ordinary observer’ test — infringement exists if an ordinary consumer would find the accused product’s overall appearance substantially similar to the patented design, regardless of the defendant’s intent. Intent is relevant only for willfulness findings that elevate damages. In this case, default admission of the complaint’s allegations satisfied willfulness.
Monitor design patent enforcement in consumer accessories
Use PatSnap Eureka to run FTO searches against Annex Products’ mount design patents and track new Schedule A filings in the Northern District of Illinois. Set alerts to catch new assertions before they affect your supply chain or marketplace listings.
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