Difficulty Collecting Judgment From Foreign Defendant Is Sufficient to Establish Irreparable Harm Needed For Preliminary Injunction

The court granted plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction regarding its touch screen device patent. "[Plaintiff] argues that a forward-looking money damages award would be insufficient because [defendant] is a foreign company with no assets within the United States. . . . [Defendant] argues that it is a reputable business that does business in at least sixteen countries, so collection of a judgment against it would not be difficult. . . . Nonetheless, the Court is persuaded that it may be difficult or impossible to collect on a money judgment because Defendant currently is a foreign entity and this alone is sufficient to show that [plaintiff] will likely be irreparably harmed."

Aevoe Corp. v. Shenzhen Membrane Precise Electron Ltd., 2-12-cv-00054 (NVD January 26, 2012, Order) (Navarro, J.)