Online Sellers Sued | General Motors Infringement Action
Driven to search for information on a new trademark lawsuit? Are you one of the Defendants in the latest General Motors intellectual property action? Well, you’re not alone – literally. The Plaintiff is suing multiple online sellers for trademark infringement. General Motors filed the lawsuit in federal court in Illinois. Anyone who does want to know about the General Motors lawsuit can read all about the allegations in the legal complaint (downloadable at the bottom of this article).
The General Motors trademark infringement action legal complaint asserts several claims. From the Defendants’ strategic use of meta-tags, to acting as a counterfeit network, to using off-shore accounts to avoid having to pay any restitution to the Plaintiff.
GM Allegations of Counterfeit & Infringement
Whatever you need to know about General Motors’ allegations of infringement, you can read it in the legal complaint. Here follows a selection of the allegations:
This action has been filed by GM to combat e-commerce store operators who trade upon GM’s reputation and goodwill by offering for sale and/or selling unauthorized and unlicensed products, including automotive maintenance and replacement parts, automotive accessories, key chains, apparel, and home decor products using infringing and counterfeit versions of GM’s federally registered trademarks.
Defendants create e-commerce stores operating under one or more Seller Aliases that are advertising, offering for sale, and selling Counterfeit GM Products to unknowing consumers. E-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases share unique identifiers establishing a logical relationship between them and that Defendants’ counterfeiting operation arises out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences. Defendants attempt to avoid and mitigate liability by operating under one or more Seller Aliases to conceal both their identities and the full scope and interworking of their counterfeiting operation.
E-commerce store operators like Defendants regularly register or acquire new seller aliases for the purpose of offering for sale and selling Counterfeit GM Products. Such seller alias registration patterns are one of many common tactics used by e-commerce store operators like Defendants to conceal their identities, the full scope and interworking of their counterfeiting operation, and to avoid being shut down.
Stockman & Poropat, PLLC Can Help Your Online Selling Business!
The intellectual property lawyers at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC are ready to assist you and your online selling business! Our team has come to the rescue for countless e-commerce sellers worldwide. We combine our long-term experience in the online selling legal space with an empathetic approach to offer our clients the best in terms of strategy and service. A federal lawsuit alleging that you infringed on a big brand’s intellectual property is more than a slight bump in the road. In order to protect your money and business, work with our stellar team of intellectual property attorneys!
Why do the sellers listed on the GM lawsuit’s Schedule A need to even take this matter seriously? If the fact that it’s a federal action isn’t enough to convince you of the seriousness, the temporary restraining order should. That’s correct – General Motors will seek and gain the court’s approval for a temporary injunction. The restraining order will apply directly to the Defendants’ online seller accounts. What’s that going to mean for the named sellers? They’ll be blocked from accessing the money in their accounts! When this account freeze commences, the Plaintiff may see it as an opportunity to apply pressure. That is, General Motors might try to reach direct settlements with as many Defendants as they can.
GM Claims Money Lost Due to Sellers’ Actions | General Motors Infringement Action
The temporary restraining order against sellers’ accounts is going to be instituted because General Motors believes they’ve been harmed. It’s the Plaintiff’s contention that because the sellers have sold counterfeit products to consumers, GM has lost money and sustained damage to their reputation. As a major automotive company, the Plaintiff has all the resources in the world to file a lawsuit against online sellers. Meanwhile, the sellers affected by the lawsuit likely don’t have matching resources. Which is why hiring the right intellectual property attorney is so crucial!
Now, reaching a direct settlement can lead to a negative outcome for sellers. By and large, online sellers are not as skilled in negotiation as lawyers, and they walk away with about 60% of the money in their frozen accounts. In some sense, sellers may see the direct settlement option as enticing because it’s quick and they can get back to business. Which may be true, but you could be returning to business with a diminished amount of capital – and that could be avoidable. We want sellers to make whatever decision they deem appropriate, but if saving time and money in the long run is your aim, you should consider retaining legal counsel.
Respond, Retain Legal Counsel, Strategize, Negotiate
When you work with our team, we can determine just which allegations pertain to your e-commerce business activity. If there’s any chance to clear your name of any alleged unlawful wrongdoing, we will identify that opportunity and move on it. This particular trademark infringement lawsuit, filed by General Motors, is very similar to many other IP infringement suits. Having handled many such cases, our team knows how to parse out which claims apply to you and which don’t. Also, if any negotiations become necessary, we’ll do everything we can to ensure the resolution is beneficial to you before anyone else. All in all, you need to take this seriously, respond, and likely negotiate so that you can get what you deserve.
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 Kendra Scott Trademark Infringement Action.
