Trojan Battery v. Golf Carts of Cypress

── Trojan Battery v. Golf Carts of Cypress ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: May 08, 2026 Category: Private Civil Federal Case: 25-20243 Document: 63-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/08/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-20243 FILED May 8, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Trojan Battery Company, L.L.C., Clerk Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Golf Carts of Cypress, L.L.C.; Trojan EV, L.L.C., Defendants—Appellants. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:21-CV-3075 ______________________________ Before Jones, Barksdale, and Stewart, Circuit Judges. Carl E. Stewart, Circuit Judge: Trojan Battery Company, L.L.C. (“Trojan Battery”) brought this lawsuit against Golf Carts of Cypress, L.L.C. (“GCC”) and Trojan EV, L.L.C. (“Trojan EV”) (collectively, “Defendants”) for trademark infringement and unfair competition under sections 32 and 43(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (the “Lanham Act”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125(a), and Texas common law. After a four-day bench trial, the district court found Defendants liable for trademark infringement and unfair competition based on their infringement of Trojan Battery’s “TROJAN” marks. The district court awarded Trojan Battery disgorgement of Defendants’ profits and Case: 25-20243 Document: 63-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/08/2026 No. 25-20243 issued a permanent injunction. Thereafter, Defendants appealed. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s liability judgment and its disgorgement of profits award. However, we VACATE the permanent injunction and REMAND for further proceedings. I A. Factual Background Trojan Battery is a Delaware limited liability company based in California. Since 1925, it has manufactured and sold deep-cycle batteries throughout the world. 1 Today, it manufactures multiple batteries under the TROJAN® brand, including those for golf carts and utility vehicles. It advertises through its website, social media, billboards, trade shows, and print and online publications, including Golf Car Options and Golf Carting Magazine. It sells TROJAN® batteries to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) who install batteries into their products and to master distributors who sell to retail stores in the “aftermarket.” Overall, TROJAN® batteries constitute 80% of the OEM market and 50% of the aftermarket for golf-cart batteries. Because of the goodwill in the TROJAN® brand, TROJAN® batteries sell at a premium price, and Trojan Battery sells hundreds of millions of dollars in TROJAN® batteries for golf carts each year. Trojan Battery owns the following three trademark registrations (collectively, “TROJAN® Marks”): (1) Registration No. 1,813,578 for the mark “TROJAN,” which it uses for electric storage batteries; (2) Registration No. 5,182,780 for the mark “TROJAN BATTERY SALES,” which it uses in connection with _____________________ 1 “Deep-cycle” batteries are “used until they have discharged most of their capacity before being recharged.” 2 Case: 25-20243 Document: 63-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/08/2026 No. 25-20243 “[r]etai