Birkenstock Trademark Lawsuit, Intellectual Property Infringement

Birkenstock, the company known for its leather sandals and footwear, has filed a lawsuit to stop counterfeit sales of their products! The reason why the Plaintiff is suing sellers is to get compensated for the loss they’ve taken due to the actions of the Defendants. According to Birkenstock, the sellers named in the lawsuit acted as a network. With that network, the Defendants allegedly worked together to sell consumers infringing goods. How’s the Birkenstock lawsuit going to impact your e-commerce operation?

Well, first, we want to explain how these Schedule A infringement lawsuits tend to work. This being a Schedule A case, the Plaintiff is suing the collective Defendants as if they were one entity. That is, all of the sellers are being sued in one go, as opposed to one by one. The reason Birkenstock is choosing this legal avenue is because of their belief that the Defendants form a network. Now whether that’s accurate or not remains to be seen as the case develops. But, even at this juncture in the allegations stage, the named online sellers will be affected. Which is why we urge you to work with our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC!

Do You Need an Attorney?

Are you curious whether you need an attorney for the newest Birkenstock trademark lawsuit? Necessity is subject to some interpretation on this matter because of the variables. However, you can consider retaining an attorney as a necessary step if you’re interested in saving the most time and money possible! That’s what Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is here for. See, without an attorney, impacted sellers will be responsible for directly settling with the Plaintiff. While that may prove satisfactory, the average settlement amounts in such Schedule A cases are less than favorable. Our team wants to see sellers get more, compared with less – so you can count on Stockman & Poropat, PLLC.

Don’t Ignore the Birkenstock Trademark Lawsuit

You can’t ignore the latest Birkenstock trademark lawsuit! Or, you actually could, but you probably won’t want to. If you fail to acknowledge the Birkenstock lawsuit with a response to the court, a Default Judgment may be approved and issued. When that happens, you may have to then pay a penalty and/or hand over a substantial amount of money you earned to the Plaintiff. Oftentimes, these decisions are irreversible, so the safest course is to respond!

And so, because Birkenstock has filed this federal lawsuit claiming trademark infringement, the Defendants will have to deal with a temporary restraining order. This TRO, as it’s referred to, is an injunction designed to prevent the identified sellers from further counterfeiting. The overarching nature of the allegations themselves means the Defendants will all be affected. At the same time, the details and actions of each seller are specific. Which means any given Defendant may benefit from an individualized legal strategy. Stockman & Poropat, PLLC can deliver just that!

The restraining order will result in your online seller accounts being frozen. Rendering the funds in those accounts inaccessible to the owner/operator. Your e-commerce business obviously depends on this money to continue its operation and find great success. The TRO, then, can be super disruptive and frankly frustrating! And, our team wants you to know that other funds could also be affected, too (also frozen), not just Birkenstock earnings. As a whole, by hiring an intellectual property lawyer, you’ll be guarding the future of your business and saving yourself a major headache.

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC Can Provide You the Legal Counsel You Need

At the law firm of Stockman & Poropat, PLLC, we use a communication and empathy driven approach. Our team prides itself on thorough and clear messaging from beginning to end. So that you know everything you need to when you need to. We don’t care to have any impacted online sellers needlessly lose money or have their reputation hurt. This is the world of e-commerce! You want to sell, earn, and keep selling. The Birkenstock trademark action could be connected to your business activities, but it also may not be. Let the team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC figure out the best resolution for you!

Here’s a few examples of Birkenstock’s allegations, taken directly from the legal complaint: 

E-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases often include content and images that make it very difficult for consumers to distinguish such stores from an authorized retailer. Birkenstock has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use the BIRKENSTOCK Trademarks, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of genuine Birkenstock Products. 

Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the BIRKENSTOCK 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 Birkenstock Products. Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using BIRKENSTOCK 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 Birkenstock Products. 

Counterfeiters such as Defendants typically operate under multiple seller aliases and payment accounts so that they can continue operation in spite of Birkenstock’s enforcement. 

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 newest Mattel Trademark Infringement Action.