NEW ORLEANS, LA—Adams & Reese client Republic Brands (“Republic”) has announced a sweeping effort to combat counterfeits in the Northeast. As reported to PR Newswire, Republic, represented by Maia Woodhouse, Adams & Reese Partner and IP Litigation & Dispute Resolution Team Leader, has filed five new lawsuits in New York and New Jersey against companies alleged to have sold counterfeit e-z wider brand rolling papers.
The lawsuits follow months of investigation, during which Republic conducted controlled test buys of suspicious products from the defendants’ stores in the Northeast. Woodhouse also helped Republic coordinate with law enforcement and other brands in the criminal investigation of New Jersey distributor Sunrise Wholesalers, resulting in the seizure of thousands of counterfeit items from its warehouse, and the indictment of one of its operators for criminal counterfeiting.
These new lawsuits are the latest step in Republic’s enforcement strategy. The Adams & Reese IP Litigation & Dispute Resolution team has helped Republic investigate counterfeiting activity across the country, including filing civil actions in Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, New York, and New Jersey; obtaining million-dollar jury verdicts against multiple wholesalers; and successfully defending those verdicts on appeal and up to the Supreme Court.
