Treble Damages

Treble damages refers to when the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board may award three times actual damages in a case of trademark infringement. Treble damages is a specific award designation allowed by the board under the Trademark Act of 1946.

For the board to award treble damages, the board must find that the trademark infringement involved the use of a counterfeit mark. In addition, the defendant must have used the counterfeit mark in at least one of the following manners: the sale of products or services knowing that the mark was counterfeit or on goods provided to another for the purpose of selling or distributing those goods.