Default judgment issued against no-show Desilu Studios Inc.

If the new Desilu Studios Inc. was looking to follow in the footsteps of its namesake, it certainly captured the spirit of the preposterous schemes found on "I Love Lucy."

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford entered default judgment against the company, affirming the common law trademark rights for the Desilu name to plaintiff CBS Studios Inc. The court permanently enjoined the defendants from using the name or any associated marks and ordered them to pay CBS' fees and costs.

But they may have some difficulty trying to collect from the company or its' CEO, Charles Hensley, documents filed by CBS indicate.

Hensley, who presented himself as a venture capitalist in press statements after purportedly registering the mark in 2016, actually struck first in the litigation, filing suit for trademark infringement against CBS last year. The case quickly deteriorated.

His first attorney withdrew from the case two months after filing, claiming he hadn't been paid and Hensley stopped communicating with him. After no-showing two scheduled court hearings on the case, his second attorney voluntarily dropped the lawsuit.

CBS filed a countersuit but said attempts to notice Hensley of the filing through certified mail, email, phone calls, and dozens of direct service attempts failed. Even an experienced investigator wasn't able to track him down, the company said.

If the accusations in CBS' countersuit are true, Hensley has reason to be evasive. While the new Desilu presented itself as an entrenched TV and film producer looking to "return to the golden age" of cinema, CBS said there was no record of the company having produced anything.

Hensley created a false valuation for the company that put its worth at $11.2 billion, CBS said, which he used to solicit investments from third parties for tens of thousands of dollars. CBS Studios Inc v. Desilu Studios Inc. (C.D. Cal., filed October 2018).

Hensley falsely represented to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a list of faux films "slated" to be filmed in 2018, including "Thor Genesis," "Moonlight Blonde," and "Delfino's Journey," said the countersuit by CBS.

Jane Shay Wald, a trademark attorney and partner emeritus at Irell & Manella LLP not involved in the case, said on the surface the new Desilu could seem like the case of the so-called "trademark zombie," wherein an individual will secure the rights to a long-abandoned trademark for a new venture.

But given the accusations of fraud and misconduct, coupled with the fact Hensley provided no evidence CBS abandoned the mark as he represented, Wald said the defendant seemed much more malicious than the average zombie.

"The defendant in this particular case presented itself as if it were legitimate," Wald said. "In a more classic trademark zombie situation, there's less likely to be some representation by the new company that they're affiliated with the original owner."