E-Commerce Sellers Targeted in New Harley-Davidson Trademark Action

Online sellers are yet again being sued by Harley-Davidson over allegations of trademark infringement. E-commerce operators will have to address the trademark action in order to continue their online selling business. There are several aspects of the Harley-Davidson counterfeit lawsuit that’ll result in disruption. But, the main factor to consider will be the suit’s temporary restraining order. 

The Plaintiff will appeal to the court to approve a restraining order as a course of action. The reason for the injunction is based on Harley-Davidson’s allegations of trademark infringement. Regardless of whether you’ve sold Harley products on one platform or multiple sites, the restraining order will impact your e-commerce business. By freezing the money in your seller accounts, the TRO will effectively prohibit sellers from accessing their funds. Obviously, the inability of access to funds can be devastating to an online seller’s business. To minimize the damage, contact our firm at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC! 

It’s paramount that affected sellers respond to the court in a timely manner. We’ll safely assume that none of the Defendants would prefer a Default Judgment. If that were to happen, because of a Defendant’s disregard for the case, it can have serious consequences. Those who are hit with a DJ may face steep additional financial penalties. Not only this, but the decisions in the form of a Default Judgment are usually quite final. So overturning such a decision can be extremely difficult, if at all viable. Better to consult with an intellectual property law firm at the outset and be prepared with a legal strategy! 

Trademark Infringement and Counterfeiting: Harley-Davidson Lawsuit Allegations

Harley-Davidson has submitted several claims pertaining to trademark infringement and counterfeiting. Perhaps the most severe of the allegations is that the Defendants have worked together to sell counterfeit goods online. The Plaintiff is relying on this particular allegation as the linchpin of their legal approach. By asserting the allegation that the named sellers form a “counterfeit network,” Harley-Davidson is positioning itself to take particular actions. Namely, the lawsuit itself. The “counterfeit network” allegation permits the Plaintiff to sue more than one seller in a single lawsuit. That’s, opposed to suing each seller on an individual basis. And as such, Harley-Davidson is claiming that they’ve endured significant revenue loss. 

At Stockman & Poropat, PLLC, we believe that online sellers deserve to take responsibility for allegations only where applicable. Because the lawsuit is targeting a group of online sellers, with blanket allegations, not all of the Defendants will be liable for the same claims. What pertains to one seller may not apply to another. This is where a Defendant-specific legal strategy comes into play. It’s important that affected sellers will only be held responsible for any infringement or counterfeit where they’ve actually engaged in as much. Due to the plethora of allegations, some will apply and others won’t. That’s where our firm can truly help! Our attorneys want to establish the exact details of your operation so Harley-Davidson can hold you accountable in an appropriate manner, if at all. After all, Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is passionate about aiding online sellers in just this kind of time of need! 

Choose Stockman & Poropat, PLLC as Your Intellectual Property Law Firm

Now, sure, there are other avenues to explore when seeking resolution over trademark infringement allegations. Sellers might wish to attempt to directly settle with Harley-Davidson, instead of retaining one of our stellar attorneys at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC. While that’s an available option, it really may not benefit sellers. That’s due to the fact that the average direct settlement amount is around 60%. You’d be risking just about half of your total earnings. In the event that you did choose this path, it’s possible that you’ll end up handing over a substantial amount of your earnings to the Plaintiff. And that may not be necessary! 

Harley-Davidson Claims Sellers Form “Counterfeit Network”

To provide sellers with further information about the Harley-Davidson lawsuit, let’s examine a selection of the allegations. The following excerpts taken from the action’s legal complaint represent a broad view of the claims: 

Defendants are collectively causing harm to Plaintiff’s goodwill and reputation because the effect of their unlawful actions taken together amplifies each harm and creates a single negative consumer impression. Defendants’ activities, occurring at the same time and in the same retail space and manner as one another, blend together to create a single negative impression on consumers such that they constitute the same occurrence or series of occurrences. 

The combination of all Defendants engaging in the same illegal activity in the same time span causes a collective harm to Plaintiff in a way that individual actions, occurring alone, might not.

Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the HARLEY- DAVIDSON 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 e-commerce stores relevant to consumer searches for Harley-Davidson Products.

Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using HARLEY-DAVIDSON 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 Harley-Davidson Products. 

To prevent your business from further harm, contact our firm at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today! Contact our team for a free initial consultation!

Download the legal complaint below:

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