Hangzhou Sino Eagle sues Eagle Yachts over its AQUILA boat mark and seeks to cancel the EAGLE YACHTS registration

What was filed

Hangzhou Sino Eagle Yacht Co. Ltd. v. Eagle Yachts, LLC and William P. Gassen, No. 8:26-cv-03374 (M.D. Fla., Tampa Division), was filed November 5, 2026, ECF No. 1 (28 pages), with eight exhibits. The complaint describes Hangzhou Sino Eagle as a corporation organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China, based in Hangzhou, that manufactures boats and watercraft and sells them in the United States, with an exclusive licensee based in Clearwater, Florida, that handles advertising and marketing of the AQUILA brand. It alleges, on information and belief, that Eagle Yachts, LLC is a Louisiana limited liability company based in New Orleans and that William P. Gassen, an individual residing in Louisiana, is its President, Manager, and Member. It alleges that Gassen signed the application that became the EAGLE YACHTS registration and later verified USPTO filings for it, and it seeks to hold him jointly and severally, or alternatively vicariously, liable on the infringement counts. Except as to the plaintiff's own acts, the complaint pleads its allegations on information and belief.

The marks

The complaint asserts U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,141,547 for AQUILA for boats, two allowed applications, AQUILA E-POWER (Serial No. 98/094,150) and AQUILA E-SAIL (Serial No. 98/203,445), and common-law rights, which it calls the AQUILA Marks, and it alleges use of AQUILA on boats in U.S. commerce since at least May 21, 2011. USPTO TSDR shows Registration No. 4,141,547 for AQUILA on the Principal Register, filed July 1, 2011 and registered May 15, 2012, owned by Hangzhou Sino Eagle Yacht Co. Ltd., for "Boats" in International Class 12, with the statement that the English translation of AQUILA is EAGLE. TSDR records its first ten-year renewal on November 28, 2022 and a TTAB cancellation proceeding against it instituted November 25, 2025, which is pending. TSDR shows AQUILA E-POWER, for "Boats; Catamarans; Yachts," under examination after a statement of use, with a non-final action issued October 14, 2026, and AQUILA E-SAIL, for "Boats; Catamarans," with a third extension of time to file a statement of use granted.

The accused registration is No. 7,742,246 for EAGLE YACHTS. TSDR shows it on the Principal Register, from Serial No. 98/319,459 filed December 18, 2023 under Section 1(a), registered April 1, 2025, owned by EAGLE Yachts, a Louisiana limited liability company, for "Yachts" in International Class 12, with YACHTS disclaimed and a claimed first use of February 20, 2011. TSDR lists a reexamination proceeding instituted June 4, 2025 and terminated January 7, 2026, and a TTAB cancellation proceeding instituted January 26, 2026, which the complaint identifies as Sino Eagle's Cancellation No. 92090712.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that the EAGLE YACHTS application claimed a first-use date of February 20, 2011, before Eagle Yachts, LLC was organized on February 28, 2011; that the USPTO refused the first specimen, a website screenshot; and that the substitute specimen was an image labeled "Prototype." It alleges that in the reexamination the USPTO's October 10, 2025 final action found that Eagle Yachts did not provide any evidence of sales of its goods to others before the relevant date and said submitted photographs might be digitally created or altered, that Gassen then signed and filed a verified response, and that the USPTO terminated the proceeding without change in reliance on it. It alleges, on information and belief, that the evidence in that response is internally inconsistent and that the defendants knowingly made false statements of use, with intent to deceive, to obtain and keep the registration. It alleges that the defendants told the USPTO that EAGLE YACHTS-branded yachts were imported into or moved to Florida, and that its claims arise from that same claimed use, as well as from the defendants' website. It alleges that the marks are confusingly similar because AQUILA is the Italian and Latin equivalent of EAGLE and YACHTS is generic and disclaimed, that the parties' goods, trade channels, and purchasers overlap, and that the defendants have continued with actual knowledge of the AQUILA Marks since a November 7, 2024 objection letter. In the alternative, it alleges, on information and belief, that any earlier use of EAGLE YACHTS was discontinued without intent to resume.

Claims and relief

Counts I to III run against both defendants, and Counts IV to VI against Eagle Yachts, LLC only. Count I is federal trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114 based on Reg. No. 4,141,547. Count II is federal unfair competition and false designation of origin under § 1125(a)(1)(A), based on the registered and common-law AQUILA Marks. Count III is trademark infringement and unfair competition under Florida common law. Count IV seeks cancellation of Reg. No. 7,742,246 for fraud on the USPTO under §§ 1064(3) and 1119. Count V seeks cancellation of that registration as void ab initio under § 1119. Count VI, pleaded in the alternative, seeks cancellation for abandonment, citing § 1119 and Sections 14(3) and 45 of the Lanham Act (§§ 1064(3) and 1127). The prayer seeks judgment against the defendants jointly and severally; a preliminary and permanent injunction against using EAGLE YACHTS, EAGLE, or any confusingly similar mark on boats, yachts, catamarans, or related goods and services; an order under § 1119 directing the USPTO to cancel Reg. No. 7,742,246; delivery of materials bearing the accused mark for destruction under § 1118; a sworn compliance report under § 1116(a); an accounting of profits and actual damages, enhanced as § 1117(a) permits; Florida common-law damages; attorneys' fees on an exceptional-case finding; costs and pre- and post-judgment interest; and other relief.