Online Sellers Hit by Collegiate Licensing Company Infringement Action
Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) has filed another trademark infringement lawsuit, once again aimed at e-commerce operators. As a Defendant, we urge you to deeply consider working with an intellectual property lawyer. Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is an award-winning law firm with a worldwide clientele who relies on us to deliver effective legal solutions. Having the appropriate legal strategy is going to allow affected sellers to protect their operations. The Collegiate Licensing Company lawsuit will likely be disruptive. But, it doesn’t have to be the end of any given chapter! A solution exists and our firm is confident we can guide you toward that solution.
As with most similar trademark infringement actions filed in federal court, the Plaintiff will utilize a temporary restraining order. This will block the Defendants from accessing the money in their online seller accounts. What’s the reason for this, precisely? In essence, CLC’s allegations assert that the named sellers are actually an international counterfeit network. By way of this alleged network, the Defendants have successfully sold unauthorized, infringing CLC goods to consumers in the United States. The result of these unproven actions, per CLC, is that they’ve sustained damage to their reputation and revenue. The restraining order is what the Plaintiff believes will prevent the ongoing sale of counterfeit products.
How the CLC Schedule A Lawsuit Will Impact E-Commerce Sellers
To elaborate, this latest CLC intellectual property infringement case is a Schedule A lawsuit. That refers to the fact that the Plaintiff is suing a list or group (network) of sellers collectively. Because their unlawful actions were allegedly committed as a collective. The alternative would be for CLC to sue each seller on an individual basis. However, since the Plaintiff is seeking to prove that the Defendants are familiar with one another and work together, they’re permitted to file the action in this way. Are you actually part of a counterfeit network, just because CLC says so? Not necessarily. Which is why working with our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC will be so beneficial! We want to illuminate the actual facts and find a resolution that’s commensurate with the true responsibility to these claims of counterfeit.
Following the filing of the lawsuit, all of the Defendants will be notified that CLC is suing them for trademark infringement. At that point, it’s quite imperative that the named sellers all provide a response. The lack of a response or the failure to submit one may give the court reason to issue a Default Judgment. What could that mean for your e-commerce business? It could very well lead to further penalties and/or the forfeiting of the entire amount of money in your frozen accounts. Are you interested in giving the Plaintiff all of your hard-earned money? If not – and we assume the answer is no – then you need to contact us at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC right away!
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Our firm is committed to providing our clients with friendly, informative interactions, always. If you have an inquiry or worry, we’re more than available to address those concerns. We want you to feel like you have all the facts you need to make the right decisions. And, if you feel as though you’re uninformed or confused, we want to bring you the clarity you need. We’re a law firm, for sure, but we’re also one big happy family! As such, we provide an understanding and open space for our clients, so they can resolve their legal issues in a comfortable environment, where patience and listening are key. Of course, our team is also laser-focused on protecting your assets and saving you invaluable time!
Knowing What CLC Alleges Can Help Determine Your Course of Action
Let’s dive into a few selections from the legal complaint. While these are merely a slice of the complete allegations, the excerpts below will allow you to gain insight into the details of the Collegiate Licensing Company trademark lawsuit:
In recent years, CAPS, on behalf of its members, including CLC, has identified numerous fully interactive e-commerce stores on online marketplace platforms such as eBay, Inc. (“eBay”), AliExpress, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited (collectively “Alibaba”), Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), Wish US Holdings LLC (“Wish.com”), Etsy, Inc. (“Etsy), DHgate.com (“DHgate”), WhaleCo Inc. (“Temu”), ByteDance Ltd., TikTok Ltd., TikTok Inc., and TikTok LLC (collectively “TikTok”) and Walmart, Inc. (“Walmart”), including the e- commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases.
Defendants facilitate sales of Counterfeit Products 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, including, in many instances, by copying the layouts, terms of service, legal notices and/or contact information found on the websites of Plaintiff’s authorized online retailers.
On information and belief, Plaintiff has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use any of the CLC Protected Trademarks, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of Genuine CLC Products.
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Download the legal complaint below:
