Gamut Trading Co. v. U.S.I.T.C.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
200 F.3d 775 (1999)
Kubota (plaintiff), a Japanese manufacturer, custom-designed different tractor models for different national markets, with its U.S. subsidiary Kubota-US selling tractors specifically configured for American use; Gamut Trading Company (defendant) instead imported used Kubota tractors originally built and sold for the Japanese market, which were substantially different from the U.S.-market tractors. Kubota sought an exclusion order from the U.S. International Trade Commission arguing the importation infringed its U.S. trademark rights, the Commission granted the exclusion order, and Gamut appealed to the Federal Circuit.
Whether foreign gray-market goods -- genuine trademarked goods legally acquired abroad but imported without the U.S. trademark holder's consent -- may be excluded from importation when they are materially different from the goods the trademark holder sells domestically.