Background
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) — a component of the U.S. Department of Justice — maintains a certification mark program for body armor worn by law enforcement officers. The NIJ certification mark signifies that body armor has been tested and meets rigorous ballistic performance standards. Only body armor models that pass NIJ testing may bear the mark, and manufacturers must be authorized for each specific model they sell.
Defendant Vall Iliev, operating through his company Vallmar Studios LLC, obtained NIJ authorization to sell only three specific models of body armor. However, Iliev placed the NIJ certification mark on additional unauthorized models that had not been tested or certified. He sold this counterfeit-marked body armor directly to law enforcement agencies. Iliev was subsequently convicted in a parallel criminal case for trafficking in counterfeit goods and sentenced to 63 months in federal prison, with $5.25 million in criminal restitution ordered.
NIJ then brought this civil trademark counterfeiting action. Iliev, now incarcerated, failed to respond, and his LLC — which had been dissolved under Ohio law — also failed to appear.
The Court’s Holding
Chief Judge Lioi granted default judgment on all claims: trademark counterfeiting, contributory counterfeiting, and vicarious counterfeiting. The court awarded $1 million in statutory damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c) and entered a permanent injunction.
On a threshold jurisdictional question, the court held that a dissolved Ohio LLC remains subject to suit under Ohio Revised Code § 1706.471, which provides that dissolution does not terminate an LLC’s existence for purposes of pending or future legal proceedings.
The court also addressed counterfeiting liability theories in detail, finding that Iliev was liable both directly (for placing counterfeit marks on products he sold) and vicariously (for controlling the LLC’s counterfeiting activity while having an obvious and direct financial interest in the infringement).
Key Takeaways
- Certification mark counterfeiting carries serious consequences. Unlike ordinary trademark infringement, counterfeiting a government certification mark — particularly one that certifies safety equipment for law enforcement — triggers both criminal prosecution and civil statutory damages.
- Dissolved LLCs are not judgment-proof. Under Ohio law (and similar statutes in many states), dissolving a company does not shield it from liability for acts committed during its existence.
- Parallel criminal and civil enforcement works. NIJ obtained both a criminal conviction (63 months, $5.25M restitution) and a civil judgment ($1M statutory damages plus permanent injunction), maximizing both deterrence and remediation.
Why It Matters
Counterfeiting certification marks on safety equipment is one of the most dangerous forms of trademark infringement — it puts lives at risk by misrepresenting that products meet safety standards they have not been tested against. This case illustrates the government’s willingness to pursue both criminal and civil remedies against certification mark counterfeiters, even after the perpetrator has been convicted and imprisoned. For the body armor industry and law enforcement procurement, the case reinforces the importance of verifying NIJ certification through official channels rather than relying solely on marks affixed to the product.