Harley-Davidson Sues E-Commerce Sellers | Trademark Infringement Action

Harley-Davidson has filed a new federal lawsuit in the court to halt the sale of counterfeit goods to consumers online. The allegations of trademark infringement are detailed in the legal complaint tied to the case. Affected sellers, which we’ll also refer to as the Defendants, should take a deep dive into that complaint. Understanding the allegations of intellectual property infringement is key to navigating the lawsuit. It’s also helpful for sellers to know about the claims of counterfeit. That way, you may ask probing questions during their consultation with our attorneys at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC!

What follows are several selections taken straight from the legal complaint. We’re sharing these excerpts so that affected or interested parties may approach the lawsuit with a bit of context:

E-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases appear sophisticated and accept payment in U.S. dollars and/or funds from U.S. bank accounts via credit cards, Alipay, Amazon Pay, and/or PayPal. 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. 

Harley-Davidson has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use any of the HARLEY-DAVIDSON Trademarks and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of genuine Harley-Davidson Products. 

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. 

Don’t Accept a Default Judgment | Respond to the Infringement Lawsuit

If you’re a Defendant and are curious about whether you should respond or not, you most certainly should! Sellers who choose or otherwise fail to respond to the lawsuit might have to face a Default Judgment. A Default Judgment is not what you would choose, most likely. Because it’s often a decision that can’t be overturned and can cost you more money! Any seller worried about protecting their e-commerce business going forward should respond. If you’re not 100% sure what the response ought to include, our team can assist!

This lawsuit is a Schedule A trademark infringement action. What that means is, the Plaintiff is suing a list of online sellers at the same time, rather than individually. After the Defendants have been notified of the lawsuit, Harley-Davidson will have the court approve of a temporary restraining order. What’s the restraining order going to do to your e-commerce business? Well, at best it’ll be a hiccup. And at worst it could be a hole in the bottom of your boat, so to speak. Which is to say, the restraining order will place a freeze on your seller accounts. That freeze will block you from accessing the money in the accounts.

The injunction, while temporary, could have a long term impact on your e-commerce operation. The manner in which the TRO impacts sellers really depends on the financial state of a seller’s business prior to the lawsuit. If you were financially struggling or on the brink of bankruptcy, the Harley-Davidson trademark infringement lawsuit may push you over that edge. Regardless of whether you can “afford” the lawsuit or not, you’ll want to protect your e-commerce business. The greatest defense will be the intellectual property attorneys at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC!

Harley-Davidson Suing Sellers | Contact Stockman & Poropat, PLLC!

Harley-Davidson wants to impose the temporary restraining order because based on “information and belief” the Defendants have worked as a network to sell unauthorized goods to consumers. To reiterate, these are allegations of counterfeit, not condemnations or judgments (yet). Which means, it’s super important that the Defendants handle this legal matter in the right way. According to the Plaintiff, the actions of the named sellers are unlawful and have cost the brand a significant amount in losses, both monetary and to their reputation. Thus, the temporary restraining order will be sought – to stop the sellers from any further sale of allegedly counterfeit goods!

When you consult with our team, we’ll go over the full gamut of options available to you, based on your unique online seller history. We really want to stress to online sellers dealing with infringement lawsuits that taking on the burden of negotiating with Harley-Davidson directly may not prove effective. Why do we say this? On an average basis, sellers being sued by brands for infringement who attempt direct settlements don’t receive fair outcomes. That is, it’s been reported that sellers usually get only 60% of the money in their frozen accounts when they choose this method. That’s why investing in an attorney is worthwhile! We’ll develop a tailor-made legal strategy and apply our unmatched experience to get you an appropriate resolution. Stockman & Poropat, PLLC wants to save you time and money!

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 latest Hallmark Intellectual Property Infringement Lawsuit.