Shenzhen Shining Bright v. Schedule A Defendants: LED Design Patent Default Judgment
Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd. brought a design patent infringement action in the Northern District of Illinois against anonymous online marketplace sellers, asserting USD971348S covering LED lights and related wearable devices. The case closed after 651 days via default judgment, with the court granting sealed enforcement against identified seller accounts.
LED design patent owner wins default against anonymous marketplace sellers
On December 22, 2023, Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese electronics manufacturer, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against a class of unnamed defendants — identified only as individuals, corporations, and other entities listed on Schedule A — for allegedly infringing U.S. Design Patent USD971348S. The asserted patent covers the ornamental design of LED-based products including strip lights, face masks, and sunglasses. The defendants were anonymous third-party sellers operating through online marketplaces.
The case resolved on October 3, 2025, when the court entered a final default judgment in plaintiff’s favor after defendants failed to appear or contest the claims. Consistent with Schedule A litigation practice, the plaintiff sought — and the court previously granted — sealing of Appendix A identifying defendant store aliases. At close, plaintiff moved to file the judgment itself under seal or with targeted redactions, citing risks of asset flight and re-registration by defaulting defendants if enforcement mechanics were made public.
The 651-day duration is notably longer than the typical Schedule A default timeline and may reflect procedural complexity in identifying, serving, and obtaining asset restraints against multiple anonymous offshore sellers. The sealing posture throughout suggests enforcement remains ongoing or sensitive as of the closure date. The full scope of monetary relief and the number of defendants subject to the judgment are not publicly disclosed, which is consistent with but not confirmed by the sealing record.
Filing to Default Judgment in 651 days
651 days — longer than median Schedule A e-commerce default cases (~180–270 days)
Default judgment entered: what the outcome means for both parties
Default judgment: defendants’ failure to appear decides the case
A default judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 is entered when a defendant fails to plead or otherwise defend. The court accepts plaintiff’s well-pleaded factual allegations as true and may award injunctive relief and damages without a merits trial. In Schedule A cases, default judgments typically include platform takedowns and asset freezes directed at third-party marketplaces and payment processors.
Rule 55 default — no merits contestShining Bright secures injunction and asset turnover against sellers
As the prevailing party, Shenzhen Shining Bright is entitled to permanent injunctive relief barring further infringement and to turnover of frozen funds held by marketplace and payment processors. The sealing of enforcement details suggests asset restraint orders were already in place before judgment entry, a common tactical sequence in Schedule A litigation designed to prevent defendants from liquidating accounts upon notice.
Injunction + asset turnover likelyDefaulting sellers face account takedowns and frozen funds
Defendants who failed to appear lose all opportunity to contest infringement, challenge patent validity, or dispute damages. The judgment binds each identified seller alias. However, practical recovery against offshore sellers is often limited; the sealed enforcement mechanics suggest plaintiff is pursuing whatever funds were restrained pre-judgment through marketplace and payment processor channels rather than direct collection.
Accounts frozen; no right to contestDesign patent enforcement via Schedule A remains a high-volume IP strategy
This case is consistent with the growing use of Schedule A actions by Chinese IP holders enforcing U.S. design patents against counterfeit or infringing marketplace listings. The sealed judgment limits public insight into the scale of relief obtained. Competing sellers and platform operators should note that N.D. Ill. courts routinely grant ex parte TROs and asset freezes at case inception, raising the operational risk of stocking LED products with design similarities to asserted patents.
N.D. Ill. Schedule A enforcement trendFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd. | Company | Chinese LED electronics manufacturer — holder of design patent USD971348SSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associates Identified on Schedule A | Company | Anonymous online marketplace sellers identified on Schedule A; no counsel appearedSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Alexander Warden | Attorney | Counsel for Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Benjamin Adam Campbell | Attorney | Counsel for Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Edward L. Bishop | Attorney | Counsel for Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Nicholas S. Lee | Attorney | Counsel for Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Qi Men | Attorney | Counsel for Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Sameeul Haque | Attorney | Counsel for Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Bishop Diehl & Lee, Ltd. | Law Firm | Representing Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Dickinson Wright PLLC | Law Firm | Representing Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | West Atlantic Law Firm, PLLC. | Law Firm | Representing Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Yk Law Llp | Law Firm | Representing Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge Martha M. Pacold | Judge | Illinois Northern District CourtSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The verdict record in this case is largely procedural: the substantive outcome is a default judgment entered after defendants failed to appear, with the operative enforcement order filed under seal. The plaintiff’s motion seeking sealed filing reflects standard Schedule A practice — courts in the Northern District of Illinois routinely permit sealing of seller-alias mappings and payment-processor directives to preserve the effectiveness of asset restraint. The default posture means no claim construction, validity analysis, or damages determination was contested on the merits.
USD971348S — Ornamental design for LED light products
U.S. Design Patent USD971348S, filed as application No. 29/763,962, protects the ornamental appearance of LED-based consumer electronics — specifically including LED strip lights, LED face masks, and LED sunglasses. Design patents protect the non-functional visual characteristics of a product, meaning the scope of protection turns on the overall visual impression of the claimed design as illustrated in the patent drawings. In fast-moving consumer electronics categories like LED wearables, design patents can provide meaningful exclusivity over high-selling SKUs.
The asserted patent is strategically significant in the context of the online marketplace ecosystem: LED face masks and light-therapy wearables have seen explosive growth on platforms such as Amazon and Wish, creating dense design-similarity risk across competing product listings. Shenzhen Shining Bright’s willingness to prosecute a multi-defendant Schedule A action — with asset freezes and sealed enforcement — signals an active enforcement posture that competitors and resellers in the LED wearable and strip-light category should treat as a material IP risk factor.
Should you run an FTO search against USD971348S?
Any company sourcing, manufacturing, or listing LED strip lights, LED face masks, LED sunglasses, or visually similar LED wearable devices for sale on U.S. online marketplaces should assess freedom to operate against USD971348S. The risk is not limited to direct manufacturers: resellers and distributors on third-party platforms have been targeted directly in Schedule A actions, and account freezes can occur before a defendant is even aware of the litigation.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map the visual claim scope of USD971348S against your product imagery and compare it to the existing design patent landscape in LED consumer electronics. Eureka identifies potentially blocking design patents, surfaces prior art that might limit enforcement scope, and flags related applications from the same assignee family — giving R&D and product teams an actionable clearance picture before launch or listing.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on USD0971348S to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar LED design patent Schedule A cases in N.D. Illinois
Cases involving LED consumer electronics design patents and Schedule A anonymous defendant enforcement in the Northern District of Illinois, N.D. Ill.
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 LED lights-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.
DecidedShenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.’s broader IP enforcement history
Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd.’s full litigation history covering prior enforcement, licensing activity, and inter partes review proceedings.
Portfolio viewWhat this case signals for the LED and e-commerce IP enforcement landscape
Default judgments in Schedule A LED patent cases signal active enforcement posture and platform-level risk for marketplace sellers.
N.D. Ill. remains the premier venue for Schedule A design patent enforcement
The Northern District of Illinois consistently grants ex parte temporary restraining orders and asset freezes at case inception in Schedule A matters. Companies sourcing or reselling LED consumer electronics on U.S. marketplaces face real platform-level exposure even before any merits review, as accounts can be frozen within days of filing.
Design patent scope on LED form factors is commercially significant
USD971348S covers the ornamental design of LED devices including face masks and sunglasses — product categories with high SKU proliferation on third-party marketplaces. Any seller with visually similar listings is a potential target. Running a design patent clearance search before listing LED wearable or strip-light products on U.S. platforms is operationally prudent.
Sealed judgments obscure true enforcement scale — monitor docket activity
Because the final judgment and defendant list remain under seal, the full number of targeted stores and the quantum of restrained funds are unknown. Competitors and platform compliance teams should monitor N.D. Ill. docket filings from Shining Bright and related Schedule A plaintiffs to anticipate enforcement waves targeting similar LED product categories.
Prolonged Schedule A timelines may signal multi-wave defendant identification
The 651-day duration — roughly double the typical Schedule A default timeline — suggests iterative identification of seller aliases, possibly across multiple marketplace platforms. IP portfolios used in Schedule A litigation can expand over time; monitoring continuation applications and design patent filings from the same assignee family provides early warning of next-wave enforcement targets.
Shenzhen v Individuals — key questions answered
The case closed on October 3, 2025 via default judgment in favor of plaintiff Shenzhen Shining Bright Technology Co., Ltd. after all defendants failed to appear. The final judgment order was filed under seal or with targeted redactions to protect enforcement details including seller-alias identifiers and asset-turnover directives.
Plaintiff asserted U.S. Design Patent USD971348S (application no. 29/763,962), which covers the ornamental design of LED consumer electronics including LED strip lights, LED face masks, and LED sunglasses. Design patents protect the visual appearance of a product rather than its functional features.
Plaintiff sought sealing on the grounds that public disclosure of seller-alias identifiers, payment-processor routing details, and step-by-step enforcement directives would enable defendants to evade asset restraints, transfer funds, and re-register under new identities. The court had previously granted sealing for Appendix A on September 24, 2025 on similar grounds.
Schedule A litigation is a procedural mechanism used in N.D. Ill. where a plaintiff names anonymous online marketplace sellers collectively on a sealed schedule rather than by their legal names. Courts typically grant ex parte temporary restraining orders and asset freezes at the outset. Defendants who fail to appear face default judgment, platform takedowns, and turnover of restrained funds.
The 651-day duration is longer than the typical Schedule A default timeline of roughly 180–270 days. While the public record does not specify the cause, extended timelines in Schedule A cases typically suggest iterative defendant identification across multiple marketplace platforms, procedural sealing motions, or staged enforcement waves. The multiple law firms representing plaintiff may also reflect phased case management.
Monitor LED design patent enforcement before your next marketplace launch
Schedule A actions can freeze seller accounts within days of filing. Run an FTO search against USD971348S and related LED design patents in PatSnap Eureka before listing products on U.S. platforms.
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