Hard candy fitness dvd

Answer the questions that correspond to each of the below case briefs in 600 words

Case 1: Hard Candy, LLC v Hard Candy Fitness

Hard Candy is a Florida limited liability company with its principal place of business in Hollywood, Florida, that began with “Hard Candy” nail polish in 1995. Around that time, Hard Candy filed a U.S. trademark application for the nail polish. Sometime later, they filed other applications under the name “Hard Candy” for cosmetics, including lipstick, lip liner, and mascara. Hard Candy’s products are sold in Wal-Mart retail stores and on Wal-Mart’s website. Since 1997, Hard Candy has also operated a website at www.hardcandy. com, on which Hard Candy currently displays its products with a link to Wal-Mart’s website.

Hard Candy Fitness (HCF) is a network of luxury fitness clubs operated by Hard Candy Fitness, LLC (“HCF”), a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in California. HCF’s clubs are located worldwide, but there has never been a club in Florida. NEV Hard Candy Fitness, LLC (“NEV-HC”) (a Delaware limited liability company) and MGHCandy (a Delaware limited liability company and owner of HCF) with its principal place of business in California, along with New Evolution Ventures, LLC (“NEV”) (a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in California), are businesses associated with Madonna Louise Ciccone, popularly known as Madonna.

Ciccone (a resident of New York) has Guy Oseary (a resident of California) as MGHCandy’s “senior management representative.” Additionally, Oseary and Sara Zambreno have provided personal management services to Ciccone since around 2005, first as employees of Guyo Entertainment, Inc., and later in affiliation with third-party Live Nation. Although in some circumstances Oseary and Zambreno must consult with Ciccone before making decisions on her behalf, as a general matter both have considerable discretion to manage Ciccone’s affairs without her input.

In November 2008, NEV filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for use of the mark “Hard Candy Fitness” for “[h]ealth club services.” The “Hard Candy Fitness” mark was used for the first time over two years later. On October 12, 2011, MGHCandy granted HCF a license to use the mark “Hard Candy Fitness” in connection with the operation of fitness clubs, the sale

of related products, and the marketing and promotion of the clubs and products. In May 2014, MGHCandy assigned to HCF its rights in the unregistered mark “Hard Candy” for use on clothing, bags, jewelry, athletic gear, and accessories. All of these companies, Ciccone, Oseary, and Zambreno are the Defendants.

Hard Candy filed suit in Florida for infringement of the Hard Candy Marks by Hard Candy Fitness through the clubs, the apparel, the www.hardcandyfitness.com website, and the Hard Candy Fitness DVD, entitled Addicted to Sweat.

Madonna and her companies (Defendants) filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, to transfer venue to the Northern District of California.

Judicial opinion

ALTONAGA, District Judge

The Florida long-arm statute recognizes two kinds of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant: specific jurisdiction and general jurisdiction. The statute confers specific jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant if the claim asserted against the defendant arises from the defendant’s forum-related contacts (i.e., contacts with Florida). The statute expressly provides a defendant’s contacts may be based not only on the defendant’s personal activities, but also on the actions of the defendant’s agents. Hard Candy relies on this agency theory of jurisdiction.

To establish a defendant is “carrying on business” under the Florida long-arm statute, “the activities of the defendant must be considered collectively and show a general course of business activity in the state for pecuniary benefit. Relevant factors in this analysis include “the presence and operation of an office in Florida . . ., the possession and maintenance of a license to do business in Florida . . ., the number of Florida clients served . . ., and the percentage of overall revenue gleaned from Florida clients.”

The Defendants conduct significant business in this District by selling Hard Candy Fitness products and services here, both in stores and via the internet; MGH- Candy “actively participates in all of HCF’s decisions related to the use of the mark ‘Hard Candy,’ and the aesthetics of the mark and the products.” [MGHCandy, Ciccone,] and Oseary approve and control all aspects of the use of the mark “Hard Candy,” including the “artistic content,” aesthetics and images related to the use of the mark. Their approval and control rights specifically include the Addicted to Sweat DVD—from its creation, sale and marketing, to the content and cover— the locations for new fitness centers, and the scope of “Hard Candy Fitness” branded services and products, including apparel, sunglasses, bags, t-shirts and more.

“Generally, a foreign parent corporation is not subject to the jurisdiction of a forum state merely because a subsidiary is doing business there.” A subsidiary’s contacts may, however, be imputed to the foreign parent, and therefore potentially subject the parent to personal jurisdiction, “if the subsidiary is merely an agent through which the parent company conducts business in a particular jurisdiction or [the subsidiary’s] separate corporate status is formal only and without any semblance of individual identity.” This agency theory of personal jurisdiction is “not . . . limited to a parent-subsidiary relationship,” but rather may extend to other relationships, such as the relation- ship between members of a limited liability company and the company.