Sellers Sued for Counterfeiting | Harley-Davidson Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

The most recognizable motorcycle brand in the world is yet again suing online sellers! The latest Harley-Davidson trademark infringement lawsuit will affect the Defendants’ day-to-day business. What are the claims that the Plaintiff is making against e-commerce operators? Let’s examine a selection of the allegations:

Defendants are individuals and business entities of unknown makeup who own and/or operate one or more of the e-commerce stores under at least the Seller Aliases identified on Schedule A and/or other seller aliases not yet known to Harley-Davidson. Upon information and belief, Defendants reside and/or operate in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems, or redistribute products from the same or similar sources in those locations.

In recent years, Harley-Davidson has identified many fully interactive, e-commerce stores offering counterfeit Harley-Davidson Products on online marketplace platforms such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Wish.com, Walmart, Etsy, Temu, and DHgate, including the e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases.

Harley-Davidson’s Allegations of Infringement…

Defendants concurrently employ and benefit from substantially similar advertising and marketing strategies. For example, 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.

This is a trademark infringement action against Defendants based on their unauthorized use in commerce of counterfeit imitations of the federally registered HARLEY- DAVIDSON Trademarks in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, and/or advertising of infringing goods. 

How Sellers Should Act After They’ve Learned of the Lawsuit

Some sellers aren’t sure what to do after they find out they’re being sued by Harley-Davidson. Without question, you’ll have to provide a response to the lawsuit! The allegations may or may not be directly applicable to your business operation. In any event, the claims of counterfeit will impact your online selling accounts. The Harley-Davidson lawsuit won’t just move on without you! You certainly need to respond. If a seller fails to respond, they could have to then deal with a Default Judgment. That outcome is something you’d do better to avoid because it’ll cost more money and is difficult to overturn. 

Why the lawsuit? What did the Defendants do to Harley-Davidson? Well, according to the motorcycle brand, online sellers have infringed on the company’s trademarks. That’s Harley-Davidson’s contention. Indeed, these claims are allegations, but nonetheless, you can’t just ignore them. The Plaintiff is going to try to regain as much of their so-called loss as they can. And, the best move the online sellers can make is to retain an intellectual property attorney! 

What a Schedule A Lawsuit Means for Online Sellers

For context, we’d like to share that this is known as a Schedule A lawsuit. Over the past several years, there’s been a substantial increase in Schedule A infringement lawsuits against online sellers. The reason is that they provide brands with the ability to sue a long list of what they believe are counterfeiters in one shot. Basically, each of these cases follows a similar strategy on the Plaintiff’s behalf. They file the lawsuit, the sellers are notified, and then the company that claims their intellectual property was infringed on attempts to settle with the sellers. 

What’s the deal with settlements in Schedule A infringement lawsuits? The majority of the settlements sellers reach directly with big brands leaves them with approximately 60% of their money. How does that work? Well, another part of the Plaintiff’s strategy is the temporary restraining order (TRO). Once the ball gets rolling with the lawsuit itself, Harley-Davidson will likely request that the court approve of a TRO. That restraining order will impose a freeze on the seller accounts of all of the Defendants. Once in effect, the sellers being sued won’t be able to touch the money in their accounts. This will apply to any and all funds earned from selling Harley-Davidson products, but can also affect money earned from other sales. 

Retain a Lawyer, Regain Access to Your Money

How should the sellers dealing with the temporary restraining order get rid of it so they can access their money? Honestly, the most effective method is to retain an intellectual property attorney as soon as you can. 

The wildly popular and iconic motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson is suing online sellers because they genuinely believe trademark infringement has occurred. Due to the global and longstanding influence of the brand, they experience counterfeiting and infringement on a regular basis. Has your business actually committed the type of unlawful action described in the legal complaint? Are you legitimately an online seller who knowingly violated the intellectual property of Harley-Davidson? Has your business truly engaged in the practices described in the claims made by the Plaintiff? 

Sellers Can Rely on an Attorney to Achieve a Good Outcome

Whatever the exact case may be concerning your business operation, an intellectual property attorney will help you navigate this legal situation. If you are interested in reaching a settlement with Harley-Davidson, a lawyer and their expertise will come in handy. The settlement that you can obtain with an attorney working for you is probably going to be more favorable than if you try to negotiate with the Plaintiff on your own. Perhaps you want to address the allegations made against you and your business. Maybe you don’t believe that what Harley-Davidson said is true for your business. That’s also something your attorney can assist you with!

Sometimes the allegations are inaccurate and a lawyer can establish and clarify that for you, so that you’re not subjected to any further disruptions. Whatever you wish to do in response to the lawsuit, you’re better off doing it with an attorney on your side! 

Need legal help?! Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free consultation. 

Download the legal complaint below:

Up next we will be discussing the Tyger Manufacturing/7pipe Infringement Lawsuit.