Leatherman Sues Online Sellers For Counterfeit Sales

Leatherman has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against online sellers due to alleged counterfeit sales! In order to present a full picture of the details of the lawsuit, we’ll share below a few selections from the legal complaint. It’ll prove useful for affected sellers to read through the complaint with scrutiny. So that you know the allegations and what questions to ask:

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

Plaintiff has not licensed or authorized Defendants to use any of its LEATHERMAN Trademarks, and none of the Defendants are authorized retailers of genuine Leatherman Products. 

Defendants are working to knowingly and willfully import, distribute, offer for sale, and sell Counterfeit Products in the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences. Defendants, without any authorization or license from Plaintiff, have knowingly and willfully used and continue to use the LEATHERMAN Trademarks in connection with the advertisement, distribution, offering for sale, and sale of Counterfeit Products into the United States and Illinois over the Internet. 

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is THE Intellectual Property Law Firm

Rather than jumping the line and leaping to negotiate the issues yourself, consider working with our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC!! The average online seller walks away from direct settlement negotiations at a rate of 60%. That could mean giving away about half of your money to Leatherman. If that doesn’t sound like a great deal, because it’s likely not, then retain your own intellectual property attorney today!

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC cares about online sellers and the difficulties that arise when they get sued for trademark infringement. Our attorneys have delivered ultra-satisfactory outcomes for countless e-commerce operators around the world. We use an empathy- and fact-based approach to address all of your inquiries and concerns. So that you feel confident that our team is handling your case with thoroughness. We don’t want any of our clients to feel unnecessarily frustrated or stressed. Our goal is to put you at ease and develop a great legal strategy!

Needless to say, the Leatherman infringement lawsuit is definitely a serious matter! And due to the seriousness of the allegations, named sellers will need to respond to the court. You really don’t want to see your business get even further damaged by a Default Judgment. And that is a possibility if a response isn’t submitted. Part of what happens in these lawsuits is that sellers’ funds are frozen… A Default Judgment could result in the court awarding ALL of your frozen assets to Leatherman!! If that doesn’t sound like a party, because it’s not, then just be sure to respond. If you require assistance with the response, Stockman & Poropat, PLLC can help you with that, too.

Leatherman Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Online Sellers

As a Schedule A lawsuit, in which a group of sellers are collectively being sued at once, a temporary restraining order is an effective legal tool. Leatherman will have the court approve of the injunction to purposely hinder the Defendants’ ability to further sell their branded products. Point blank, Leatherman wants to stop the sale of what they believe are counterfeit goods. The Plaintiff alleges that the collective action of the group of sellers has cost them revenue and harmed their reputation. Furthermore, the Plaintiff has described the Defendants’ actions as occurring in concert with one another, constituting a “counterfeit network” of sorts.

In the majority of instances, with similar Schedule A infringement cases, the temporary restraining order freezes funds earned from the sale of the Plaintiff’s products. That’ll likely be the case here, as well, but there’s a chance the TRO may also impact other earnings. Overall, the restraining order is a significant disruption to an e-commerce operation! For some, the freeze in funds may push them closer to bankruptcy. All in all, having your own legal team will provide you with the support you need to get through this lawsuit in one piece! At Stockman & Poropat, PLLC, we want to do all we can to ensure the integrity and long term growth of your online business.

Online Sellers Sued Over Infringement Allegations

Ultimately, the value of the Leatherman marks are what precipitated this lawsuit, in a sense. The Plaintiff’s trademarks hold great value and they’re doing what they can to protect that. Is it necessarily fair that the allegations are wholesale applied to the entire group of Defendants? It may or may not be, depending on the level of responsibility for what the Plaintiff states the sellers engaged in. Regardless, equip yourself with our legal team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC and you’ll have much less to worry about!!

Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free initial consultation! 

Download the legal complaint below:

Check out another intellectual property article: NHL Sues E-Commerce Operators Over Alleged Sale of Counterfeit Goods Online.