Deckers Sues Sellers for Counterfeit Sales of Products
Deckers, the company that owns UGG, Hoka, and Teva trademarks has filed a lawsuit because of counterfeit sales of their products. The UGG, Hoka, and Teva trademark lawsuit identifies multiple online sellers as alleged counterfeiters. The claims of infringement range from the sellers working as a network to infringe, to engaging in specific tactics to elude the law.
UGG, Hoka, and Teva Trademark Infringement Claims
Here, we will excerpt some of the allegations as stated in the UGG, Hoka, and Teva lawsuit legal complaint:
Defendants are individuals and business entities of unknown makeup who own and/or operate one or more of the e-commerce stores under at least the Seller Aliases identified on Schedule A and/or other seller aliases not yet known to Deckers. On information and belief, Defendants reside and/or operate in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems, or redistribute products from the same or similar sources in those locations.
Deckers has identified many fully interactive, e- commerce stores offering Counterfeit Products on online marketplace platforms such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Wish.com, Walmart, Etsy, DHgate, and Temu including the e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases.
Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the DECKERS 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 Deckers Products. Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using DECKERS Trademarks in the item title to evade enforcement efforts while using strategic item titles and descriptions that will trigger their listings when consumers are searching for Deckers Products.
E-commerce store operators like Defendants regularly register or acquire new seller aliases for the purpose of offering for sale and selling Counterfeit Products. Such seller alias registration patterns are one of many common tactics used by e-commerce store operators like Defendants to conceal their identities and the full scope and interworking of their counterfeiting operation, and to avoid being shut down.
E-Commerce Businesses Sued for Alleged Sale of Counterfeit Goods
In brief, Deckers is suing e-commerce sellers mainly because they believe they’ve illegally used their intellectual property. What the Plaintiff will do is request that the court approve a temporary restraining order. The reason for that move is to put a stop to what Deckers says is rampant online sales of counterfeit UGG, Hoka, and Teva products. Are the allegations the same as a guilty verdict? They’re not! Every named seller is innocent of the claims of infringement until proven otherwise. No matter, the existence of the lawsuit and enforcement of the restraining order will affect sellers’ businesses. Each and every claim of infringement should be acknowledged and responded to in an official, legal capacity. Meaning, don’t try to ignore the trademark lawsuit and hope it resolves itself!
Any seller named in the UGG, Hoka, and Teva trademark lawsuit should very seriously consider hiring an intellectual property attorney. Utilizing the services of a lawyer will very likely provide you with the full breadth of options at your disposal. Not to mention, you’ll have a greater chance to keep the money your business has earned! If you choose to work with our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC, our attorneys will develop a legal strategy that suits your exact needs.
Take Time to Read Over the Allegations of Infringement
By taking a close look at the legal complaint, any seller dealing with the temporary restraining order will know precisely why they’re in this situation. If for any reason you don’t understand some or even all of the allegations, that’s a great reason to consult with an attorney, too. Most online sellers are not lawyers! The good news is, you don’t have to be one – that’s our job. Whatever questions you may have about the lawsuit, we can help provide you with answers. Sure, you may be based in China, or another country. Indeed, you may not have a solid idea of how the United States legal system works. Quite possibly, you might not have a strong command of the English language itself. Whatever the case, an intellectual property attorney is going to be indispensable!
What do the sellers named in the lawsuit have to do? Broadly speaking, you’ll have to do three things. You have to submit a response to the court wherein the lawsuit is taking place. Anyone who doesn’t provide a response could then have to deal with a Default Judgment. That’s an outcome no one should choose to accept. It’s expensive and often incapable of being overturned once issued. Sellers will also have to negotiate with the Plaintiff so that they can resolve the matter. And, sellers will likely reach a settlement with Deckers, as well.
Better to Develop a Solution With an Intellectual Property Attorney
Be forewarned, that direct settlements between sellers and the Plaintiff, without an attorney, could be risky. In most instances, sellers will greatly benefit from entering into negotiations and settlement talks with the Plaintiff via their own attorney. This is due to the reported trend in Schedule A infringement lawsuits wherein Plaintiffs only offer sellers around 60% of their money. The way that works is, once the temporary restraining order is in place, the money in sellers’ online accounts is frozen. Feeling the pressure, sellers may just take a direct settlement offer so they can get back to normal operations. However, that kind of short-term decision making could end up costing sellers quite a bit of money. Better to rely on an experienced intellectual property attorney!
Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free consultation.
Download the legal complaint below:
Up next we will be discussing how the BBC Sued Online Sellers Again for Selling Bluey Products.
