Been hit with a lawsuit filed by Christian Dior? The fashion brand has filed a suit in Northern Illinois, claiming e-commerce store operators sold counterfeit goods to consumers in the United States. The trademark infringement allegations are aimed at online sellers who used platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Temu, Wish.com, Etsy, and others to sell Christian Dior products.
In many instances, Defendants in infringement cases like this one want to settle with the Plaintiff. This is a specific federal lawsuit – Schedule A. Christian Dior and other world-famous brands have relied on these lawsuits within recent years to combat counterfeiting. Some sellers have infringed on Christian Dior’s trademarks, others haven’t. The brand may settle with Defendants for a portion of the money in their account(s).
Trademark Infringement Allegations | Christian Dior Lawsuit
Why would an online seller accused of trademark infringement want to settle with the Plaintiff? The brand filed a temporary restraining order. This freezes all the money earned from the sale of (per this lawsuit) Christian Dior products. Sometimes, the restraining order impacts money earned from other goods, too. An online seller could be prevented from accessing thousands of dollars. That’s a major wrench thrown into the spinning wheel of business. If you’re looking at maybe taking a settlement, consider your options! Settlements in Schedule A cases allow accused sellers to keep only a percentage of their money – the rest will be awarded to Christian Dior.
Consult with an intellectual property attorney to fully explore all avenues of resolution!
Respond! Don’t Abandon the Lawsuit | Providing a Response
And, sellers who are tossing around the idea of not doing anything – definitely reconsider! If you’re a Defendant, you ought to respond to the lawsuit. Any seller who just walks away is essentially giving their money to the Plaintiff. Additionally, abandonment of the issue can hurt your business’ reputation and lead to a more complicated legal situation – Default Judgment. If you’ve received a legal notice and want to toss it away, don’t! This is a legitimate infringement lawsuit and you should act to save yourself from taking a total loss.
Dior claims the following:
Defendants have targeted sales to Illinois residents by setting up and operating e- commerce stores that target U.S. consumers using one or more Seller Aliases, offer shipping to the U.S., including Illinois, accept payment in U.S. dollars and/or funds from U.S. bank accounts…
Defendants facilitate sales 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.
Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the CHRISTIAN DIOR 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 Dior Products.
E-commerce store operators like Defendants are in constant communication with each other and regularly participate in QQ.com chat rooms and through websites such as sellerdefense.cn and kuajingvs.com regarding tactics for operating multiple accounts, evading detection, pending litigation, and potential new lawsuits.
…among other allegations of infringement and counterfeiting.
Why Have Sellers Been Accused of Counterfeiting?
Sellers accused of trademark infringement are sometimes confused regarding the allegations. “Why have I been named in the lawsuit?” “What did I do wrong?” These kinds of questions frequently arise. The answers are sometimes straightforward, other times more complicated. In any event, counterfeiting is a serious issue for brands like Christian Dior. Infringement costs companies millions in losses and damages their name. Counterfeiting is a rampant problem in the e-commerce world. That’s the reason why they file lawsuits like this one.
Is it fair that Defendants who may or may not have truly infringed on Christian Dior trademarks are named? Not always – it’s certainly a huge disruption to deal with a temporary restraining order and face losing thousands of dollars. As the legal complaint states, “This action has been filed by Dior to combat e-commerce store operators who trade upon Dior’s reputation and goodwill by offering for sale and/or selling unauthorized and unlicensed products, including clothing and fashion accessories, using infringing and counterfeit versions of Dior’s federally registered trademarks.”
Reaching a settlement with Christian Dior – this is only one way to handle the situation! Stockman & Poropat, PLLC can help. Our team of intellectual property attorneys will work to find a legal solution that is fair, reasonable, and which saves you time and money. Contact our office today for a free consultation!
Download the legal complaint below:
Up next we will be discussing the General Motors ™ Infringement Lawsuit.
