Case: 1:22-cv-02677 Document #: 1 Filed: 05/20/22 Page 1 of 12 PageID #:1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION

GUANGZHOU CAIZHI E-COMMERCE )

CO., LTD., ) Case No. 22-cv-02677
)
Plaintiff, )
v. )
)
FRAMAR INTERNATIONAL, INC., a )
Canadian company; THE PARTNERSHIPS )
AND UNINCORPORATED )
ASSOCIATIONS )
IDENTIFIED ON SCHEDULE A, )
)
Defendants. )
)

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT

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Plaintiff Guangzhou Caizhi E-Commerce Co., Ltd. (“GZC”), for this patent-infringement

Complaint against Framar International Inc. (“Framar”) and The Partnerships and

Unincorporated Associates Identified on Schedule A (collectively, “Schedule A Defendants”),

alleges as follows:

INTRODUCTION

1. This action has been filed by Plaintiff to combat online infringers who trade upon

Plaintiff’s reputation and goodwill by selling and/or offering for sale unauthorized and unlicensed

products, namely the hairclips shown in Exhibit 1, that infringe Plaintiff’s patented design,

U.S. Patent No. D918,473 (the “Infringing Products”). The Defendants sell their products online

in a way to resemble Plaintiff’s genuine products, while actually selling Infringing Products to

unknowing consumers. Schedule A Defendants attempt to avoid liability by concealing both

their identities and the full scope and interworking of their operation. Plaintiff is forced to file

this action to combat Defendants’ infringement of its patented design, as well as to protect

unknowing consumers from purchasing Infringing Products over the Internet. Plaintiff has been

and continues to be irreparably damaged from the loss of its lawful patent rights to exclude others

from making, using, selling, offering for sale, and importing its patented design as a result of

Defendants’ actions and seeks injunctive and monetary relief.

PARTIES AND JURISDICTION

GZC

2. Plaintiff is a corporation of China and the owner of U.S. Design Patent No.

D918,473 (the “’473 Patent”) titled “Hair Clip.”

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3. Plaintiff manufactures, offers to sell, and/or sells hairclips embodying the ’473

Patent via online retailers such as its Amazon.com marketplace. Plaintiff has established its

products as the first to market and has an established reputation and quality reviews.

4. Plaintiff’s hair clips have been well received by customers who desire a

comfortable and aesthetically appealing hair clip.

5. Plaintiff is the lawful owner of all rights, title, and interest in the ’473 Patent. The

’473 Patent was duly issued on May 4, 2021. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is a true-and-correct

copy of the ’473 Patent.

6. Plaintiff has not granted a license or any other form of permission to any

defendant in this action with respect to the design patented in the ’473 Patent.

Framar

7. Framar International Inc. is a Canadian corporation headquartered in Niagara

Falls, Ontario, Canada.

8. Framar is in the business of selling products, such as the Infringing Products, to

hair salons, stylists, and consumers in the United States, including the State of Illinois, through

its own website and on Amazon.com.

Schedule A Defendants

9. Schedule A Defendants, identified in Schedule A, are individuals and business

entities who, upon information and belief, reside overseas, such as in the People’s Republic of

China. Schedule A Defendants conduct business throughout the United States, including within

the State of Illinois and this Judicial District, through the operation of the fully interactive,

commercial online marketplaces operating under their internet stores. Each Schedule A

Defendant targets the United States, including Illinois, and has offered to sell, and, on

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information and belief, has sold and continues to sell Infringing Products to consumers within

the United States, including the State of Illinois.

10. Schedule A Defendants go to great lengths to conceal their identities and often

use multiple fictitious names and addresses to register and operate their network of internet

stores. On information and belief, Schedule A Defendants regularly create new online

marketplace accounts on various platforms, as well as other unknown fictitious names and

addresses. Such internet-store registration patterns are one of many common tactics used by the

Schedule A Defendants to conceal their identities, the full scope and interworking of their

operation, and to avoid being shut down.

11. Even though Schedule A Defendants operate under multiple fictitious names,

there are numerous similarities among their internet stores. The internet stores include notable

common features beyond selling the exact same infringing products, including the same or

similar product images, accepted payment methods, check-out methods, meta data, illegitimate

SEO tactics, lack of contact information, identically or similarly priced items and volume sales

discounts, the same incorrect grammar and misspellings, similar hosting services, and the use of

the same text and images, including content copied from Plaintiff’s original product listings.

12. In addition to operating under multiple fictitious names, Schedule A Defendants

in this case and defendants in other similar cases involving online infringers use a variety of

other common tactics to evade enforcement efforts. For example, infringers like Schedule A

Defendants will often register new online marketplace accounts under new aliases once they

receive notice of a lawsuit. Infringers also typically ship products in small quantities via

international mail to minimize detection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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13. Further, infringers such as Schedule A Defendants typically operate multiple

credit-card merchant accounts and PayPal accounts behind layers of payment gateways so that

they can continue operation in spite of Plaintiff’s enforcement efforts, such as take-down notices.

On information and belief, Schedule A Defendants maintain off-shore bank accounts and

regularly move funds from their PayPal accounts or other financial accounts to off-shore bank

accounts outside the jurisdiction of this Court. Indeed, analysis of PayPal transaction logs from

previous similar cases indicates that offshore infringers regularly move funds from U.S.-based

PayPal accounts to foreign bank accounts outside the jurisdiction of this Court.

All Defendants

14. Framar and the Schedule A Defendants (collectively, “Defendants”), without any

authorization or license from Plaintiff, have knowingly and willfully offered for sale, sold, and/or

imported into the United States for subsequent resale or use products that infringe directly and/or

indirectly the ’473 Patent, and continue to do so via their internet stores. Each internet store

offers shipping to the United States, including Illinois, and, on information and belief, each

Defendant has sold Infringing Products into the United States, including Illinois.

15. Defendants’ infringement of the ’473 Patent in the offering to sell, selling, or

importing of the Infringing Products was willful.

16. Defendants’ infringement of the ’473 Patent in connection with the offering to

sell, selling, or importing of the Infringing Products, including the offering for sale and sale of

Infringing Products into Illinois, is irreparably harming Plaintiff.

17. Plaintiff has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use the invention claimed in

the ’473 Patent, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of Plaintiff’s Products.

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18. This is an action for patent infringement arising under the Patent Laws of the

United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., including 35 U.S.C. § 271.

19. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).

20. On information and belief, Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in this

Court, consistent with the principles of due process and the Illinois Long Arm Statute, by virtue

of their above-referenced activities and contacts within the state of Illinois and the Northern

District of Illinois, and further because they purposefully availed and avail themselves of the

privileges of doing business in Illinois.

21. On information and belief, a substantial part of the acts giving rise to the instant

action occurred in the state of Illinois and the Northern District of Illinois.

22. Venue in this Court is proper under at least 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)-(d).

COUNT I: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. DESIGN PATENT NO. D918,473 UNDER 35

U.S.C. § 271

23. Defendants offer for sale, sell, and/or import into the United States for subsequent

resale or use Infringing Products that infringe directly and/or indirectly the ornamental design

claimed in the ’473 Patent.

24. This includes the infringement shown by the chart in Exhibit 1 comparing the

Infringing Products to the figures of the ’473 Patent.

25. Infringement by Framar’s representative product is shown in the chart below:

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Figures from the ’473 Design Patent Photos of Framar’s Representative

Infringing Product
FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 4

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FIG. 5

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

FIG. 8

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FIG. 9

26. Defendants have infringed the ’473 Patent through the aforesaid acts and will

continue to do so unless enjoined by this Court. Defendants’ wrongful conduct has caused

Plaintiff to suffer irreparable harm resulting from the loss of its lawful patent rights to exclude

others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, and importing the patented inventions.

Plaintiff is entitled to injunctive relief pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 283.

27. Unless a preliminary and permanent injunction is issued enjoining Defendants and

all others acting on in active concert therewith from infringing the ’473 Patent, Plaintiff will be

greatly and irreparably harmed.

28. Plaintiff is entitled to recover damages adequate to compensate for the

infringement, including Defendants’ profits under 35 U.S.C. § 289. Plaintiff is entitled to recover

any other damages as appropriate under 35 U.S.C. § 284.

DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Plaintiff requests a jury trial on any and all issues properly so triable.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for the following relief:

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A. That Defendants, their affiliates, officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys,

confederates, and all persons acting for, with, by, through, under or in active concert with them be

temporarily, preliminarily, and permanently enjoined and restrained from:

a. offering for sale, selling, and importing any products not authorized by

Plaintiff and that include any reproduction, copy or colorable imitation of the

design claimed in the Patented Design;

b. aiding, abetting, contributing to, or otherwise assisting anyone in infringing

upon the Patented Design; and

c. effecting assignments or transfers, forming new entities or associations or

utilizing any other device for the purpose of circumventing or otherwise

avoiding the prohibitions set forth in Subparagraphs (a) and (b).

B. Entry of an Order that, upon Plaintiff’s request, those in privity with Defendants

and those with notice of the injunction, including, without limitation, any online marketplace

platforms such as iOffer, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Amazon, Wish.com, Walmart.com, and

Dhgate, web hosts, sponsored search engine or ad-word providers, credit cards, banks, merchant

account providers, third party processors and other payment processing service providers,

Internet search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo (collectively, the “Third Party

Providers”) shall:

a. disable and cease providing services being used by Defendants, currently or in

the future, to engage in the sale of goods that infringe the Patented Design;

b. disable and cease displaying any advertisements used by or associated with

Defendants in connection with the sale of infringing goods using the Patented

Design; and

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c. take all steps necessary to prevent links to the Defendant Internet Stores

identified on Schedule A from displaying in search results, including, but not

limited to, removing links to the Defendant Internet Stores from any search

index;

C. Judgment that the ’473 patent is valid and enforceable;

D. Judgment that Defendants have infringed and are infringing said patent;

E. Damages as Plaintiff shall prove at trial against Defendants that are adequate to

compensate Plaintiff for infringement of said patent, including all profits realized by Defendants,

or others acting in concert or participation with Defendants, from Defendants’ unauthorized use

and infringement of said patent;

F. That Plaintiff be awarded from Defendants, as a result of Defendants’ use and

infringement of the Patented Design, three times Plaintiff’s therefrom and three times

Defendants’ profits therefrom, after an accounting, pursuant to 35 USC § 284;

G. That Plaintiff be awarded its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; and

H. Awards of any further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

Dated: May 20, 2022 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Stephen J. Rosenfeld

Stephen J. Rosenfeld
MCDONALD HOPKINS LLC
300 North LaSalle, Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (312) 280-0111
srosenfeld@mcdonaldhopkins.com

Gang “Gavin” Ye (pro hac vice)

Kris Teng (pro hac vice)
BAYES PLLC
8260 Greensboro Drive, Suite 625
McLean, VA 22102
Phone: (703) 995-9887

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Fax: (703) 821-8128

gavin.ye@bayes.law
kris.teng@bayes.law

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

BEIJING CHOICE ELECTRONIC
TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION

GUANGZHOU CAIZHI E-COMMERCE )

CO., LTD., ) Case No. 22-cv-02677
)
Plaintiff, )
v. )
)
FRAMAR INTERNATIONAL, INC., a )
Canadian company; THE PARTNERSHIPS )
AND UNINCORPORATED )
ASSOCIATIONS )
IDENTIFIED ON SCHEDULE A, )
)
Defendants. )
)

EX. 1 – INFRINGEMENT CHART

This chart demonstrates how the identified accused products infringe on the ’473 Design Patent by comparing pictures of the
accused products to the figures from that patent.

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Figures from the ’473 Design Patent Photos of Infringing Products

FIG. 1 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

Doe #1:

2
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Doe #2:

Doe #3:

3
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FIG. 2 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

Doe #1:

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Doe #2:

Doe #3:

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FIG. 3 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

Doe #1:

Doe #2:

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Doe #3:

FIG. 4 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

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Doe #1:

Doe #2:

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Doe #3:

FIG. 5 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

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Doe #1:

Doe #2:

Doe #3:

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FIG. 6 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

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Doe #1:

Doe #2:

Doe #3:

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FIG. 7 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

Doe #1:

13
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Doe #2:

Doe #3:

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FIG. 8 Framar, Product A:

Framar, Product B:

Doe #1:

Doe #2:

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Doe #3:

FIG. 9 Framar, Product A:

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Framar, Product B:

Doe #1:

Doe #2:

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Doe #3:

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Exhibit 2
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USOOD918473S

( 12) United
Xiao
States Design Patent ((4510)) Date
PatentofNoPatent
.: : US D918,473 S
May 4 , 2021
( 54 ) HAIR CLIP 2008/0149129 A1 * 6/2008 Yang A45D 8/20
132/277
( 71 ) Applicant: Zikang Xiao , Guangdong (CN) 2009/0223533 A1 * 9/2009 Daley A45D 2/42
132/211
2009/0255552 A1 * 10/2009 Hsu A45D 8/20
( 72 ) Inventor: Zikang Xiao , Guangdong (CN) 132/277
2009/0272397 A1 * 11/2009 Defenbaugh A45D 8/20
( ** ) Term : 15 Years 132/277
2009/0272398 A1 * 11/2009 Chudzik A45D 8/20
( 21 ) Appl. No .: 29 /748,662 2009/0277469 A1 * 11/2009 Hsu
132/277
A45D 8/20
(22 ) Filed : Aug. 31 , 2020 132/277
2011/0297178 A1 * 12/2011 Hsu A45D 8/20
( 51 ) LOC ( 13 ) Cl . 28-03 132/277
(52) U.S. CI. 2017/0181518 A1 * 6/2017 Hsu B29C 45/0055
USPC D28 /40 * cited by examiner
( 58 ) Field of Classification Search
USPC D28 /39 , 40 , 42 , 43 Primary Examiner Zenia I Bennett
CPC . A45D 8/00 ; A45D 8/002 ; A45D 8/14 ; A45D (74 ) Attorney, Agent, or Firm ScienBizip , P.C.
8/16 ; A45D 8/18 ; A45D 8/20 ; A45D
8/22 ; A45D 8/24 ; A45D 8/30 ( 57 ) CLAIM
See application file for complete search history. The ornamental design for a hair clip , as shown and
described .
( 56 ) References Cited
DESCRIPTION
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,873,377 A * 2/1999 Yang A45D 8/20 FIG . 1 is a front perspective view of a hair clip , showing my
132/277
design .
6,035,863 A * 3/2000 Mao A45D 8/20 FIG . 2 is a rear perspective view thereof.
132/273 FIG . 3 is a front elevation view thereof.
9,232,841 B1 * 1/2016 Hsu A45D 8/20 FIG . 4 is a rear elevation view thereof.
D794,870 S 8/2017 Hsu FIG . 5 is a left side elevation view thereof.
D869,766 S 12/2019 Gu FIG . 6 is a right side elevation view thereof.
2006/0225763 A1 * 10/2006 Lau A45D 8/20
132/277 FIG . 7 is a top plan view thereof.
2007/0131237 A1 * 6/2007 Tu A45D 8/20 FIG . 8 is a bottom plan view thereof; and ,
132/277 FIG . 9 is a perspective view of the hair clip opened.
2008/0149128 A1 * 6/2008 Yang A45D 8/20
132/275 1 Claim , 9 Drawing Sheets

1
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 3 of 9 US D918,473 S

FIG . 3
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 4 of 9 US D918,473 S

mond no

FIG . 4
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 5 of 9 US D918,473 S

FIG . 5
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 6 of 9 US D918,473 S

FIG . 6
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 7 of 9 US D918,473 S

......
?
.
*

FIG . 7
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 8 of 9 US D918,473 S

ene
DAVEURE
FIG . 8
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U.S. Patent May 4, 2021 Sheet 9 of 9 US D918,473 S

BE
?
FIG . 9
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Schedule A

(filed under seal)