An original award of $2.6 million did not represent the full amount of money PartyGaming should have faced as a forfeiture in a trademark lawsuit with WMS Gaming, according to a federal appeals court that is allowing the manufacturer to seek more than $287 million in damages.

The lawsuit stems back to 2006, when PartyGaming used the names “Jackpot Party” and “Super Jackpot Party,” which WMS said it has trademarked as far back as 1997. The Gibraltar-based PartyGaming did not appear in court to contest the case, claming the U.S. had no jurisdiction.

WMS asked a judge to award $287 million in profits as part of the default ruling. That figure comprises all of PartyGaming’s profits from its U.S. operations in 2004, 2005 and 2006. WMS attorneys argued that because PartyGaming never supplied a breakdown of its profits from various games that were not part of the trademark violation, it should forfeit all of its profits.

The presiding judge instead awarded a “reasonable” estimate of $2.6 million, arrived at by multiplying by three the estimated actual damages WMS claimed in 2004 of $866,000.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling September 8 agreeing with WMS, and ordering the lower court to reverse its decision.

“Courts consistently find that when a trademark plaintiff offers evidence of infringing and the infringer fails to carry its statutory burden to offer evidence of deductions, the plaintiff’s entitlement to profits under the Lanham Act is equal to the infringer’s gross sales,” wrote the court.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.