3M in the Time of COVID-19: N95 Respirators, Trademark Law and Deterring Bad Actors

In January 2020, 3M had zero trademark litigation relating to 3M-branded N95 respirators. In the last six months alone, the company has received more than 4,000 complaints of fraud in connection with the sale or distribution of N95 respirators, briefed hundreds of law enforcement agents and filed 18 trademark-infringement lawsuits against bad actors claiming to be affiliated with 3M. These cases have led to 9 TROs, 6 preliminary injunctions and 11 settlements. Join 3M’s Laura Hammargren and members of the Faegre Drinker team handling two of these matters to discuss how 3M pivoted on a dime to protect its trademarks and used the Lanham Act and state equivalents to stop life-threatening fraud in its tracks.

This session is part of the COVID-19 and Fraud series hosted by the Faegre Drinker COVID-19 Working Group, focused on dissecting current and potential areas of fraudulent activity within relief programs and pharmacotherapeutic innovation overseen by numerous government agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To review the additional sessions, visit the series website.

QUESTIONS? Please contact Mesha Hegna Goodwill or call +1 612 766 7145.