Canada Goose Sues Online Sellers!
Recently, Canada Goose filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court in Illinois. This Schedule A counterfeit lawsuit, like many others filed in the same district, claims that the Defendants created a “network” and worked together to infringe on Canada Goose’s marks. How has the intellectual property been unlawfully used? By way of the sale of Canada Goose branded goods on e-commerce platforms. The sites where these products were supposedly sold are Amazon, eBay, Walmart, DHgate, Etsy, and others.
Canada Goose Identifies Alleged Counterfeit Network
To begin with, let’s review some of the infringement allegations as they are explicitly written in the legal complaint:
This is a trademark infringement action against Defendants based on their unauthorized use in commerce of counterfeit imitations of the federally registered CANADA GOOSE Trademarks in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, and/or advertising of infringing goods. The CANADA GOOSE Trademarks are highly distinctive marks. Consumers have come to expect the highest quality from Canada Goose Products offered, sold or marketed under the CANADA GOOSE Trademarks.
Canada Goose has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use any of the CANADA GOOSE Trademarks, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of genuine Canada Goose Products.
Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the CANADA GOOSE 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 Canada Goose Products. Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using CANADA GOOSE 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 Canada Goose Products.
Canada Goose Trademark Lawsuit Details
Based on the information gathered by Canada Goose, the infringement of the Plaintiff’s trademarks took place when certain counterfeit goods were sold. Taking a deep look into the allegations written in the legal complaint is worthwhile. By reading through the claims, you can absorb both the details and gravity of the Canada Goose federal lawsuit. It could also be extremely helpful when speaking with an intellectual property attorney. If you have the context and specific questions, your consultation will be much more productive!
Our team of attorneys have worked with online sellers on an international scale to help them through very similar infringement cases. Whatever your reaction, from anxiousness and annoyance, to everything in between, we understand. Trademark infringement lawsuits can be quite a disturbance in the regular flow of e-commerce business. We want you, the online sellers, to know that the lawsuit itself doesn’t mean it’s a definite loss for you. When you hire an intellectual property attorney, you won’t be left out in the cold. The most efficient way to deal with the case is to have a solid legal strategy!
How to Negotiate Favorable Settlements
Are you in a position to try and negotiate with Canada Goose, without an attorney? So far as your options are concerned, yes, any Defendant can do this. The appeal of a direct settlement is that it could be quick, relatively easy, and gets sellers on their way. The downside is quite significant, though. We strongly recommend sellers who’re getting sued for infringement to work with an intellectual property. That’s because when sellers in such lawsuits as this directly settle, they can walk away with a severely unfavorable outcome. If you retain a lawyer on our team, we’ll negotiate a settlement that has your best interests in mind, rather than the Plaintiff’s.
What do we mean by keeping your best interests in mind? Well, once approved by the court, sellers will be slapped with a temporary restraining order. That restraining order can potentially cost sellers money. You’ll be prevented from accessing your seller account and the money in it. Your account will be frozen, so to speak. The TRO is designed to stop sellers from engaging in any additional sales of counterfeit products. Overall, brands like Canada Goose seek restraining orders in infringement cases because they’ve observed damage as a result of the Defendants’ alleged conduct. If you didn’t care to consider the lawsuit as a serious matter before, we hope you will now knowing this information!
Submit a Response, Avoid a Default Judgment
Not sure what you should do first? You’ve got to provide a response to the lawsuit. It’s really not optional! Without a response, the court may find reason to issue a Default Judgment. And, if that happens to you, it may cost you even more on the financial side, along with time and another headache. It’s probably a better idea to submit a response than not. You’ll really want to avoid a Default Judgment, so just respond! If you’re a seller who needs assistance or guidance with the response, we’re on hand and excited to help.
If Canada Goose is suing you for trademark infringement and counterfeiting, you should retain an intellectual property attorney! Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free initial consultation.
Download the legal complaint below:
Up next we will be discussing the latest NBA Trademark Infringement Lawsuit.
