Don Ramos v. Schedule A Defendants: Default Judgment in 97 Days
Don Ramos pursued anonymous e-commerce sellers across platforms including Amazon, AliExpress, and Wish.com for counterfeiting his registered design patent USD1062292S — a storage container for grocery and trash bags. The Northern District of Illinois entered default judgment in 97 days, awarding damages, a permanent injunction, and asset freeze against all non-appearing defendants.
Design patent counterfeit sweep yields default judgment against online sellers
On August 15, 2025, Don Isaac B. Ramos filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against an anonymous group of e-commerce sellers identified only through domain names and online marketplace accounts listed in Schedule A. The action centred on alleged infringement and counterfeiting of U.S. Design Patent USD1062292S (Application No. 29/854623), which protects the ornamental design of a storage container for grocery and trash bags. Defendants operated storefronts across major platforms including Amazon, AliExpress, Alibaba, eBay, Wish.com, and DHgate.
Because none of the Schedule A defendants appeared or responded, the court entered default and then default judgment on November 20, 2025 — 97 days after filing. The judgment granted a permanent injunction barring defendants from manufacturing, selling, or advertising products bearing the claimed design, ordered domain registrars to transfer or disable defendant domain names within seven days, and directed payment processors including PayPal, Alipay, Amazon Pay, and Ant Financial to freeze and release restrained funds to the plaintiff as partial satisfaction of damages. Statutory damages of a $250 minimum per defendant were awarded pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c)(2).
The 97-day resolution is consistent with the accelerated pace typical of Schedule A ‘design counterfeit’ cases in the Northern District of Illinois, where electronic service and ex parte asset freezes are commonly granted. The public record does not disclose the total number of Schedule A defendants, the aggregate funds restrained, or whether supplemental proceedings under FRCP Rule 69 were subsequently commenced. The case suggests plaintiff had screenshot evidence sufficient to satisfy the court’s jurisdictional and merits thresholds without full merits litigation.
Filing to Default Judgment in 97 days
97 days — faster than the N.D. Ill. median for default judgment proceedings
Default judgment entered: what the ruling means for both parties
Default judgment: allegations deemed admitted when defendants don’t appear
A default judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 is entered when a defendant fails to plead or otherwise defend. The court accepted Ramos’s uncontroverted allegations as admitted and found the screenshot evidence sufficient to establish design patent infringement. Importantly, the court confirmed personal jurisdiction based on defendants’ deliberate targeting of Illinois consumers through U.S.-shipping e-commerce stores.
FRCP Rule 55 defaultRamos obtains injunction, asset freeze, and domain seizure
The default judgment gives Ramos a permanent injunction, the ability to seize or disable defendant domain names, and access to frozen financial accounts held by third-party payment processors. The $5,000 surety bond is returned, and plaintiff retains ongoing authority to pursue supplemental proceedings under FRCP Rule 69 until full damages are recovered. The judgment functions as a broad enforcement toolkit against the named defendants.
Permanent injunction grantedNon-appearing defendants face permanent ban and frozen accounts
Defaulting defendants received no merits adjudication and have no appeal path on the merits since they never appeared. Their online marketplace accounts must be disabled, domain names transferred or deactivated, and funds restrained by payment processors released to plaintiff. Defendants retain the theoretical ability to move to vacate the default judgment, but the burden to do so is substantial and requires showing excusable neglect and a meritorious defence.
Assets frozen; accounts disabledSchedule A enforcement signals continued court appetite for fast design IP sweeps
The Northern District of Illinois continues to be a preferred venue for Schedule A counterfeit cases involving design patents on consumer goods. A 97-day path from filing to default judgment — including electronic service, ex parte asset freezes, and third-party platform compliance orders — reinforces that U.S. design patents over everyday consumer products can be enforced quickly against anonymous overseas online sellers when supported by screenshot evidence.
N.D. Ill. Schedule A enforcementFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Don Ramos | Individual | Individual design patent holder — holder of USD1062292S for a grocery and trash bag storage containerSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations in Schedule A | Individual | Anonymous e-commerce sellers operating across Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, Wish.com, and DHgate storefrontsSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Robert Michael Dewitty | Attorney | Counsel for Don RamosSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Dewitty And Associates, Chtd. | Law Firm | Representing Don RamosSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge Jorge L. Alonso | Judge | Illinois Northern District CourtSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The default judgment is entered on uncontroverted allegations following defendants’ failure to appear — the court did not conduct a full merits review but did independently assess jurisdiction and the sufficiency of screenshot evidence to establish infringement of USD1062292S. The broad injunctive relief, covering manufacturing, distribution, advertising, domain names, and financial accounts, is characteristic of Schedule A counterfeit judgments in the Northern District of Illinois. The reference to 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c)(2) suggests the court applied statutory damages rather than actual damages, consistent with cases where defendant revenue data is unavailable.
USD1062292S — Ornamental design for a storage container for grocery and trash bags
USD1062292S (Application No. 29/854623) is a U.S. design patent protecting the ornamental appearance of a storage container for grocery and trash bags. Design patents under 35 U.S.C. § 171 protect the visual characteristics of a functional article — not the article’s utility — and are infringed when an ordinary observer would find the accused product substantially similar to the claimed design. The patent is federally registered, which is a prerequisite for the statutory damages remedy invoked here.
Design patents on everyday consumer storage products occupy a commercially significant niche because the products are easily manufactured and widely cloned on overseas e-commerce platforms. USD1062292S demonstrates that even a low-cost household item can carry enforceable IP rights capable of supporting injunctions, asset freezes, and platform takedowns. For competitors and private-label sellers developing similar bag storage or organiser products, the existence of this registered design creates clearance obligations that should be assessed before launch.
Should you run an FTO against USD1062292S before launching a similar product?
Any manufacturer, importer, or e-commerce seller developing a storage container, organiser, or dispenser for grocery bags, trash bags, or similar flexible packaging should assess USD1062292S before entering the market. The enforcement pattern in this case — screenshot-based infringement analysis, rapid asset freezes, and platform-level account disabling — means that design patent risk can materialise quickly and with limited warning, particularly for sellers on Amazon, AliExpress, or Wish.com.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map the design patent landscape around bag storage and household organiser products, identify visually similar registered designs, and flag prosecution history that may narrow or broaden the claim scope of USD1062292S. For product teams and importers operating in this category, a proactive FTO review is materially cheaper than defending against a Schedule A enforcement action in the Northern District of Illinois.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on USD1062292S to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar design patent Schedule A counterfeit cases in N.D. Illinois
These cases share the Schedule A counterfeit enforcement pattern and design patent infringement claims litigated in the N.D. Illinois consumer goods sector.
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 Storage container for grocery and trash bags-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.
DecidedDon Ramos’s broader IP enforcement history
Don Ramos’s full litigation history covering prior enforcement, licensing activity, and inter partes review proceedings.
Portfolio viewWhat this case signals for the consumer goods design patent IP landscape
This case illustrates how U.S. design patents on commodity consumer products can be wielded as aggressive enforcement tools against anonymous e-commerce counterfeiting networks.
N.D. Illinois remains a fast-track venue for design patent counterfeit sweeps
The 97-day filing-to-judgment timeline confirms the Northern District of Illinois processes Schedule A design patent default judgments efficiently. For design patent holders facing mass counterfeit distribution on platforms like Amazon and AliExpress, this venue offers electronic service, rapid asset freezes, and compliant third-party platform orders without requiring defendant identification.
Screenshot evidence is sufficient — but the design patent must be federally registered
The court relied entirely on screenshot evidence to establish infringement and jurisdiction. This case confirms that a federally registered design patent (here, USD1062292S) can support a default judgment without extensive claim construction — particularly where the infringing products are visually compared against the claimed ornamental design via e-commerce listings.
Payment processor freezes are the real enforcement lever — not just injunctions
The practical enforcement value of this judgment lies in the asset freeze orders directed at PayPal, Alipay, Amazon Pay, Ant Financial, and Alibaba. Identifying and restraining defendant financial accounts before they are liquidated is the mechanism by which plaintiffs in Schedule A cases actually recover monetary damages — injunctions alone rarely extract value from anonymous overseas sellers.
Design patent application strategy: early filing creates enforcement windows on fast-moving consumer SKUs
USD1062292S covers an everyday consumer storage product. This case suggests that design patents on low-cost, high-volume consumer goods — especially those vulnerable to rapid overseas cloning on e-commerce platforms — can generate enforceable IP rights with a relatively low prosecution investment. R&D and product teams should consider design patent filing as part of new SKU launch protocols.
Ramos v Partnerships — key questions answered
The Northern District of Illinois entered a default judgment in favour of plaintiff Don Isaac B. Ramos on November 20, 2025, 97 days after filing. The court found design patent infringement of USD1062292S, granted a permanent injunction, ordered domain name seizure or disabling, and directed payment processors to freeze and release defendant funds to the plaintiff.
USD1062292S is a U.S. design patent (Application No. 29/854623) protecting the ornamental design of a storage container for grocery and trash bags. It was enforced against anonymous e-commerce sellers on platforms including Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, Wish.com, and DHgate who were selling products bearing counterfeit or infringing versions of the claimed design, as evidenced by screenshots submitted by plaintiff.
The court found personal jurisdiction because the defendants operated interactive e-commerce stores targeting U.S. consumers, offered shipping to Illinois, and had made sales to Illinois residents. The combination of electronic publication and email notice, plus notifications from domain registrars and payment processors, was deemed reasonably calculated to apprise defendants of the pending action.
The court awarded damages equivalent to total profits or statutory damages of $250 minimum per defendant pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c)(2). Restrained funds held by third-party payment processors including PayPal, Alipay, Amazon Pay, Ant Financial, and Alibaba were ordered released to plaintiff as partial payment. Plaintiff also retained the right to pursue supplemental proceedings under FRCP Rule 69 for any remaining unpaid amounts.
Defendants who did not appear may theoretically move to vacate the default judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(c) and 60(b), but must demonstrate good cause and a meritorious defence. Given that none of the defendants appeared or answered, and the court found the allegations deemed admitted, the burden to vacate is substantial. The public record does not disclose any post-judgment motions filed by any Schedule A defendant in this case.
Monitor design patent risk in the consumer storage products market
Use PatSnap Eureka to run a freedom-to-operate analysis against USD1062292S and related design patents before launching bag storage or household organiser products. Track new Schedule A enforcement filings in N.D. Illinois to stay ahead of the counterfeit litigation landscape.
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