Freelancer International Pty Limited et al v. Upwork Global, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS' REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED BRIEFING AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY granting #6 Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages; denying #7 Motion for TRO; granting in part and denying in part #11 Ex Parte Application ; denying #12 Motion to Shorten Time. (Illston, Susan) (Filed on 9/9/2020)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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FREELANCER INTERNATIONAL PTY
LIMITED, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
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v.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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UPWORK GLOBAL, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
Case No. 20-cv-06132-SI
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’
REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED
BRIEFING AND GRANTING IN PART
AND DENYING IN PART
PLAINTIFFS’ REQUEST FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
Re: Dkt. Nos. 6, 7, 11, 12
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On August 31, 2020, plaintiffs Freelancer Technology Pty Limited (“Freelancer Tech”) and
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Freelancer International Pty Limited (“Freelancer Intl”) (collectively “plaintiffs” or “Freelancer”)
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filed a complaint alleging ten causes of action,1 including various federal and state trademark
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infringement and unfair competition claims against defendants Upwork Inc. and Upwork Global
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Inc. (collectively “defendants” or “Upwork”). Dkt. No. 1 (Complaint). Plaintiffs and defendants
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are competitors in the market for software platforms that match freelancers with freelancing jobs.
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Dkt. No. 1 ¶¶ 45, 50. Plaintiff Freelancer Tech holds the federally registered trademark2 to the word
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mark “FREELANCER” for the goods and services provided under Classes 9, 35, 36, and 45. Dkt.
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No. 1 ¶¶ 24, 26, 29-32 (Complaint); Dkt. No. 1-1 (Exhibit 1).
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Specifically, plaintiffs allege the following causes of action: (1) Counterfeiting; (2) Federal
Trademark Infringement; (3) Federal Unfair Competition; (4) California Unfair Competition; (5)
Common Law Unfair Competition; (6) Common Law Trademark Infringement; (7) Common Law
Trade Name Infringement; (8) Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage; (9)
California Anti-Phishing Act; and (10) California False Advertising.
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U.S. Reg. No. 4,284,314 issued on February 5, 2013, from trademark application serial no.
77/983,284 that was filed on March 3, 2010.
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Before the Court are four motions, namely: (1) motion for leave to file excess pages for
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motion for temporary restraining order (“TRO”)3; (2) motion for TRO and order to show cause why
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preliminary injunction should not be issued; (3) ex parte application for expedited discovery; and
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(4) a motion to shorten time for briefing and hearing on plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction.
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Dkt. Nos. 6, 7, 11, 12.
On April 1, 2020, allegedly as soon as plaintiffs became aware of defendants’ alleged
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infringement, Freelancer Limited’s CEO, Mr. Barrie, emailed Upwork’s CEO, Ms. Brown, to give
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notice of such infringement. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 35 (Complaint); Dkt. No. 8 ¶¶ 1, 16-17 (Barrie Decl.);
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Dkt. No. 8-3 (Exhibit 3). Mr. Barrie sent follow up emails on April 3 and 14 but allegedly received
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no reply from defendants. Dkt. No. 1 ¶¶ 36-38 (Complaint); Dkt. No. 8 ¶¶ 18-19 (Barrie Decl.);
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Dkt. No. 8-3 (Exhibit 3).
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On April 28, 2020, plaintiffs’ outside counsel sent defendants notice by email and certified
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U.S. mail, identifying alleged illegal uses of Plaintiffs’ “FREELANCER” mark. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 39.
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On May 14, 2020, defendants responded, saying they were “currently looking into the matter and
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[would] get back to [defendants] soon”; however, defendants did not cease use of the
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“FREELANCER” mark. Dkt. No. 1 ¶¶ 40-41. Between May 14, 2020 and August 31, 2020, it
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appears that there was no communication between the parties. Dkt. No. 24 ¶ 3 (Fritz Decl. in
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Support of Opp’n re Mot. to Shorten Time).
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On August 31, plaintiffs notified defendants of this action, which was filed the same day.
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Dkt. No. 24 ¶ 2 (Fritz Decl.). Although defendants reached out to plaintiffs the evening of August
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31 and the next day, defendants argue there was “no meaningful opportunity to confer before”
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defendants filed their motions. Dkt. No. 23 at 34 (Opp’n re Mot. to Shorten Time).
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Plaintiffs request two additional pages over the 25-page limit for their Ex Parte Motion for
Temporary Restraining Order and for an Order to Show Cause Why Preliminary Injunction Should
not be Issued. Dkt. No. 6 at 2 (Mot. to File Excess Pages). The motion is GRANTED, but such an
allowance is unlikely to be made in the future. This is a straightforward trademark infringement
action and the typical page limits should provide ample space for the parties to present their
arguments to the Court.
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For ease of reference, citations to page numbers refer to the ECF branded number in the
upper right corner of the page.
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I.
Motion to Shorten Time & Motion for Temporary Restraining Order
In support of their motions to shorten time and for a temporary restraining order, plaintiffs
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argue time is of the essence because every day defendants allegedly continue infringing the
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“FREELANCER” trademark, potential users of plaintiffs’ software and platform are being confused
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and diverted to defendants’ software and platform. Dkt. No. 12 at 3 (Mot. to Shorten Time).
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“Plaintiffs estimate that up to as many as 1,800 users per day or 56,000 users per month are diverted
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into [d]efendants’ business and away from [p]laintiffs’ business.” Dkt. No. 7 at 25 (Mot. for TRO).
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Therefore, plaintiffs seek a TRO to preserve the status quo ante (which would require substantial
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changes in the current status quo) and prevent irreparable harm from occurring until a hearing can
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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be held on a preliminary injunction, citing Granny Goose Foods v. Bhd. of Teamsters & Auto Truck
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Drivers, 415 U.S. 423, 429, 94 S. Ct. 1113 (1974).
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Defendants oppose both the motion to shorten time and TRO arguing that “freelancer” is a
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generic word and the dispute is not urgent because defendants “launched the current iteration of its
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mobile apps in January 2019.” Dkt. No. 23 at 4-5 (Opp’n re Mot. to Shorten Time). Defendants
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contend that a normal briefing schedule is sufficient and that plaintiffs are not entitled to an urgent
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remedy because they waited five months before seeking any form of relief from this Court. Id. at
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5; see, e.g., Rovio Entm't Ltd. v. Royal Plush Toys, Inc., 907 F. Supp. 2d 1086, 1097 (N.D. Cal.
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2012) (plaintiff’s six month delay in requesting a TRO “militates against its issuance” in contrast to
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several other TROs sought urgently by parties ranging from zero to ten days after the alleged harm).
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The Court is not persuaded, under all these circumstances, that plaintiffs are entitled to
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shorten time as requested. A preliminary injunction hearing is set for early October, which should
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protect all parties. The Court therefore DENIES plaintiff’s motion to shorten time and for a
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temporary restraining order.
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II.
Motion for Expedited Discovery
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Plaintiffs also request limited expedited discovery from defendants in connection with the
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alleged unauthorized use of the ‘Freelancer’ trademark. Dkt. No. 11 at 2 (Mot. for Expedited
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Discovery); Dkt. No. 11-1-3 (Exhibits A-C). Specifically, plaintiffs request responses to (1)
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requests for production of documents, (2) special interrogatories, and (3) requests for admission.
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The requests seek documents and information including when defendants began using the mark,
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when defendants became aware of plaintiffs’ mark, and instances where any person was confused
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as a result of defendants’ alleged infringement of the mark.
A district court may permit expedited discovery “upon a showing of good cause.” Semitool,
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Inc. v. Tokyo Electron America, Inc., 208 F.R.D. 273, 276 (N.D. Cal. 2002). Good cause exists
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“where the need for expedited discovery, in consideration of the administration of justice, outweighs
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the prejudice to the responding party.” Id. To determine whether good cause justifies expedited
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discovery, courts often consider factors including “(1) whether a preliminary injunction is pending;
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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(2) the breadth of the discovery requests; (3) the purpose for requesting the expedited discovery; (4)
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the burden on the defendants to comply with the requests; and (5) how far in advance of the typical
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discovery process the request was made.” Am. LegalNet, Inc. v. Davis, 673 F. Supp. 2d 1063, 1067
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(C.D. Cal. 2009) (quoting Disability Rights Council of Greater Wash. v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit
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Auth., 234 F.R.D. 4, 7 (D.D.C. 2006)).
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The Court DENIES plaintiffs’ motion with respect to the requests for production of
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documents and special interrogatories because neither are narrowly tailored. Although a preliminary
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injunction is pending, the breadth of these discovery requests and burden on the defendants is
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significant.
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documents relating to any instances of mark confusion, all the people involved in defendants’
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branding decisions, target market, customer base, and average consumer demographics, including
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level of sophistication and purchasing habits. Dkt. No. 25 at 3-4 (Opp’n re Mot. for Expedited
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Discovery); Dkt. No. 11-1, 2 (Exhibits A, B). Likewise, the special interrogatories are also
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overbroad. For example, special interrogatory number 2 asks Upwork to identify “all of the goods
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and services in connection with which you have used or are using any mark (or term)
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FREELANCER and/or any mark or phrase containing the term FREELANCER.” Dkt. No. 11-2
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at 6 (emphasis added). Given that plaintiffs contend the Court could issue a TRO and a preliminary
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injunction based on public information already available to plaintiffs, these expansive discovery
For example, responding to the requests would require Upwork to produce all
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requests are overbroad and unduly burdensome. Dkt. No. 11 at 5 (Mot. for Expedited Discovery).
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Plaintiffs motion for expedited discovery is GRANTED with respect to plaintiffs’ requests
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for admission. Plaintiffs’ requests for admission are narrowly tailored and go to the heart of the
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preliminary injunction motion. Five straightforward requests for admission are not burdensome.
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Here, with a preliminary injunction pending, the factors weigh in favor of permitting this request.
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III.
Briefing Schedule & Deadlines
Plaintiffs’ ex parte motion for shortened time and for a temporary restraining order is
DENIED.
Plaintiffs’ ex parte motion for expedited discovery is GRANTED as to the requests for
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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admissions and DENIED with respect to the requests for production of documents and special
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interrogatories.
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Upwork’s opposition to plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction is due on or before
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Friday September 18, 2020. Further, on or before September 18, Upwork must serve its
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response to plaintiffs’ requests for admission.
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Plaintiffs’ reply in support of a preliminary injunction is due on or before Friday September
25, 2020.
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A hearing regarding whether a preliminary injunction should issue will take place at 10 a.m.
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on Friday October 9 via Zoom. The parties will be provided with the necessary login information
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by the Courtroom Deputy the week of the hearing.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: September 9, 2020
______________________________________
SUSAN ILLSTON
United States District Judge
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