Federal Court Upholds Jury Verdict Finding Many of Supplier’s Military Parts are Counterfeit

The jury in a federal court case tried in June of 2024 found that high-strength fasteners produced by a supplier for military applications were counterfeit under federal trademark laws. The case is Safety Socket LLC v. Relli Technology, Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The jury found that Relli committed willful counterfeiting when it sold fasteners bearing the registered trademarks of Safety Socket to fill orders for military part numbers, without Safety Socket’s authorization to sell them as such. Relli’s post-trial challenge to the jury’s verdict of willful counterfeiting was denied by the Court on February 10, 2025.

The evidence presented by Safety Socket at trial showed that Defendant Relli was taking Safety Socket’s commercial parts, bearing Safety Socket’s registered trademarks, plating them – or, in some cases even without modification – and selling them as parts meeting applicable military requirements. The parts were sold to foreign as well as domestic military contractors, for use on contracts for various combat vehicles and heavy equipment.

Evidence presented at trial by Safety Socket also showed that the modified parts did not meet the minimum requirements associated with those part numbers. In addition, there was evidence that similarly modified parts had failed prematurely compared to the life-expectancy of properly made parts.

The statute of limitations restricted the evidence to fasteners sold by Relli starting in October of 2015, but even within that timeframe, the evidence showed that nearly 10,000 counterfeit, high-strength fasteners were sold by Relli Technology to various contractors. This was the second such litigation successfully pursued by Safety Socket. The prior case was Safety Socket LLC v. Accurate Aerospace, Inc.

Safety Socket LLC has supplied high-strength fasteners for demanding commercial, military and aerospace applications for over 80 years.