Transgo, Inc. v. Ajac Transmission Parts Corporation, and Fairbanks America, Inc. Fairbanks Racing Automatics and Joseph Lupo

Appellant auto part manufacturers (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Fairbanks”) appeal the district court’s denial of their Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(5) motion to modify post-trial permanent injunctions entered against them. They allege that the injunctions restrict their freedom of commercial speech under the First Amendment and are inconsistent with Lanham Act provisions. Because we find that Fairbanks does not meet the requirements for modification of injunctions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(5), we affirm the district court’s order.

FACTS

The parties in this case are competitors in the automatic transmission auto parts business. See Transgo, Inc. v. Ajac Transmission Parts Corp., 768 F.2d 1001, 1009-13 (9th Cir.1985) (giving detailed facts regarding the transmission trade and the histories of the parties’ businesses), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1059 , 106 S.Ct. 802 , 88 L.Ed.2d 778 (1986). Following a trial on plaintiff Transgo’s claims of trademark and copyright infringement, in which a jury found that defendants, including Fairbanks, had infringed plaintiff’s trademark “Shift Kit” and copyrighted instructions, the district court permanently enjoined defendants’ use of the term…