Supreme Claims Counterfeit Has Damaged the Brand

You’ve probably heard of one of the hottest brands in the world, Supreme. They’re a skateboarding lifestyle brand formed in New York City, known globally for their streetwear apparel and accessories. Ever tried to buy some of their products? Long lines often form outside their stores when a new line drops. That’s because consumers love Supreme! The brand has carved out its place in the fashion industry and doesn’t seem like it’s going away anytime soon. What does this kind of reputation come with? The potential for loads of counterfeiting! Which brings us to the topic of this article: Supreme has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court. Online sellers will be affected and need to respond accordingly so that they can maintain their business. 

Responding to the Supreme Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

The legal complaint connected to the lawsuit states in part: 

The success of the Supreme brand has resulted in the significant counterfeiting of the SUPREME Trademarks. In recent years, Plaintiff has identified many fully interactive, e- commerce stores offering Counterfeit Supreme Products on online marketplace platforms such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Wish.com, DHgate, Etsy, Temu, and Walmart, including the e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases. The Seller Aliases target consumers in this Judicial District and throughout the United States. 

Defendants named in the case as alleged infringers may not know what to do. Primarily, the sellers who are involved should provide a response! You’ll want to respond to the court. Avoid getting into the nastier territory of a Default Judgment. This can cost you lots of money and is much more difficult to remedy once issued. The best way to address the lawsuit is by responding. Avoiding the lawsuit, abandoning the matter, or pretending it isn’t legitimate – these actions will hurt your business and could cost you thousands of dollars! Any seller who doesn’t know how to formulate a response need not worry. Intellectual property attorneys can handle that for you, as well as any subsequent negotiations. 

Are You an Online Seller? Confused as to Why You’re Being Sued?

Often, we speak with e-commerce operators who don’t even really know why they’ve been named as a Defendant in an infringement lawsuit. There are many reasons why this could happen. Counterfeiting is a reality for brands like Supreme. Whether or not you’ve infringed on the company’s intellectual property is a possibility. But, it’s not an absolute certainty just because the lawsuit was filed. Remember – the details of counterfeiting described in the legal complaint are allegations of wrongdoing, not proof. Once an intellectual property attorney can delve into the specifics of your business, then the reason for why the allegations were made against you may be revealed. From there, a legal solution or resolution may be developed. 

This is a particular type of infringement lawsuit. It has proliferated in the federal court of Northern Illinois over the last few years. It’s called Schedule A. In short, Schedule A lawsuits are largely filed by the same law firm on behalf of some of the world’s most successful, largest companies in an effort to combat rampant counterfeiting. These brands tend to rely on Schedule A suits because it gives them the advantage of naming an extensive list of alleged infringers all at once. 

Sellers Affected by Temporary Restraining Order…

Unfortunately, a selection of the Defendants in these cases may not actually have committed the unlawful actions the brands claim they engaged in. Nevertheless, online sellers are impacted. The biggest disruption tends to be what’s known as a temporary restraining order (TRO). Once the court approves the TRO against the Defendants, all assets in their online selling accounts will freeze. You won’t be able to touch the money. And, this could disrupt an e-commerce business from selling (in this case) Supreme products, as well as goods that are not at all connected to the Plaintiff. 

The lawsuit claims the following: 

Defendants have targeted sales to Illinois residents by setting up and operating e- commerce stores that target United States consumers using one or more Seller Aliases, offer shipping to the United States, including Illinois, accept payment in U.S. dollars and/or funds from U.S. bank accounts, and, on information and belief, have sold Counterfeit Supreme Products to residents of Illinois.

[Sellers] facilitate sales by designing the e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases so that they appear to unknowing consumers to be authorized online retailers, outlet stores, or wholesalers.

Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the SUPREME Trademarks without authorization within the content, text, and/or meta tags of their e-commerce stores to attract various search engines crawling the Internet looking for websites relevant to consumer searches for Supreme Products. 

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC Can Help | Intellectual Property Attorneys to the Rescue!

Quite often, we see Defendants in Schedule A lawsuits seeking a settlement with the Plaintiff. We get it. You have a restraining order on your money, you want a quick fix, and the brand is willing to work with you directly. Simultaneously, we know that most of these settlements provide Defendants with the power to keep only 60% of all the money they individually earned from selling products online. Not really the best deal. And the rest of your money? Goes directly to Supreme. This is yet another advantage of Schedule A lawsuits, for brands. They accuse a bunch of sellers, reach settlements through intimidation, and recoup a healthy portion of damages as a result of merely making accusations. 

Direct settlement with Supreme is not the sole option for e-commerce sellers named in this lawsuit! Just like Supreme is saying their reputation was damaged by infringement, your business’ reputation could likewise be tarnished. Want to find a resolution to the lawsuit that doesn’t leave you high and dry with a lot less money than you truly deserve? Don’t let intimidation by a big brand or the United States legal system stop you from pursuing a fair outcome! Online sellers have the agency to take legal action of their own.

Our team of superb intellectual property attorneys can help you get the most beneficial resolution! Looking for a solution to the restraining order and infringement allegations? Contact Stockman & Poropat, PLLC for a free consultation today! Our team will work diligently to reach a favorable and fair outcome for you.

Download the legal complaint below:

Up next we will be discussing the Christian Dior Infringement Lawsuit.