Ninth Circuit Gives FanX/Salt Lake Comic Con a Break

Bryan Brandenburg of FanX, formerly the Salt Lake Comic Con, told Facebook followers on October 16, “Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay pending appeal for the nearly $4 million judgment and a broad injunction” in connection with a District Court judge’s award of attorney fees to San Diego Comic-Con following his decision in SDCC’s trademark infringement suit against Dan Farr Productions (DFP).

KUTV reported a week ago that an emergency appeal had been filed with the Ninth Circuit because the judgment was going to come due October 22 and collection action could begin. DFP’s motion argued —

SDCC’s enforcement efforts would likely foreclose appellate review of the questionable verdict and the erroneous determination that this case is “exceptional,” purportedly justifying $3.9 million in fees on a $20,000 judgment. And if SDCC enforces the judgment, DFP’s destruction will cost Salt Lake City’s economy millions of dollars. But a stay likely wouldn’t harm SDCC: its likelihood of collecting the judgment increases if DFP is not driven into bankruptcy, and DFP has already changed the name of its future conventions.

Deseret News, in “Appeals court grants stay for FanX’s $4 million payout”, notes the verdict is still being contested in the Ninth Circuit:

In addition to appealing the costly judgment, FanX is challenging the verdict that brought it about, including claiming attorneys representing the Utah company were wrongly barred from arguing at trial that the term “comic con” was being used generically long before San Diego secured rights to the phrase.

Brandenburg also said on FanX Facebook page the litigation will be going on for several more years:

We’re encouraged by the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and looking
forward to proceeding with our appeal. Based on the typical time for the appeal process in the Ninth Circuit, this stay will be in place for at least 2-3 more conventions before the final decision is reached (which we are hopeful will
bring a positive outcome).

This gives us the time, energy, and financial resources to
focus on producing events for the best fans in the world. Our events next year will take place on April 19-20, 2019, and September 5-7, 2019.

[Thanks to David Doering for the story.]