On August 8, 2011, the District Court for the Southern District of New York held Westinghouse Digital, LLC (“WD”) in contempt for failing to defend one of the BusyBox cases. The court had previously issued a default judgment and injunction against Westinghouse Digital Electronics, LLC (“WDE”). (The judgment was previously reported in this blog.) WDE liquidated its assets after severe business distress, and told the court it would not defend the litigation. WD then purchased the assets of WDE. The court assessed whether there was “a substantial continuity of identity between” WDE and WD, and found that there was. WDE made a fair use defense that seemed feeble based on its description in the court’s order. The court invited evidence on damages and attorneys fees, and ordered forfeiture of all infringing articles.
