Levi’s Sues Online Sellers Over Trademark Infringement

Are you one of the e-commerce sellers named in the latest Levi’s federal intellectual property infringement lawsuit? And, for those who are being sued… What should the Defendants in this case expect to encounter with the Levi’s lawsuit? The brand will seek and likely get approval for a temporary restraining order – that’s going to be the biggest disruption! With legal counsel working with you, you’ll have the tools to navigate the lawsuit. So you don’t take an unnecessary loss. If you’re entertaining the idea of not responding, please drop that notion now! You’ll need to respond to the lawsuit so you can stay clear of a Default Judgment.

When Defendants in trademark lawsuits obtain legal counsel, they can work with their attorney to develop an actionable strategy for this case. You’ll want to have a strategy planned out so that you’re not entering the situation without a plan! To be clear, the named online sellers have been accused of selling counterfeit Levi’s products. Because of this fact, the Defendants aren’t in a position to do nothing. You need to act and submit a response to the court! In order for the online sellers to lessen the disruption and loss to their business? They’ll need to address the lawsuit. Again, don’t line yourself up to receive a Default Judgment by not responding!

Levi’s Sues E-Commerce Operators

Having an intellectual property attorney, as opposed to not, will strengthen your position when it comes to responding to the lawsuit. Levi’s is a highly-valuable, globally-recognized brand that’s suing e-commerce operators for infringement. The Plaintiff is interested in obtaining a temporary injunction. They want to levy this against the Defendants so they can put a freeze on their online accounts. When that happens, the sellers won’t have access to the funds in their accounts. The temporary restraining order will impact money earned from selling Levi’s and possibly other products, too. Levi’s wants to stop the counterfeit operation they believe is run by the Defendants. And when you choose to work with the team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC? We’ll do everything in our power to defend your business!

An Intellectual Property Attorney Will Be an Asset

Is an intellectual property attorney a requirement for online sellers being sued by Levi’s? Any of the Defendants may choose to not hire an attorney. What we want the Defendants to know is that when sellers attempt to negotiate with Levi’s on their own, they may lose money. Often, it pays off in the long run for online sellers to retain a lawyer so they can get the most appropriate outcome available. Typically, after the restraining order is implemented, brands like Levi’s will try to negotiate settlements directly with the Defendants. In those instances, the Plaintiff will attempt to negotiate so that a given seller will walk away with about 60% of the money in their frozen account. That may be a fast-track to moving on, but you may be getting short-changed!

The team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is second-to-none in providing legal counsel for e-commerce intellectual property issues. Our depth of experience is unmatched, as well as our level of care for each and every one of our clients. If you’re a Defendant in the latest Levi’s trademark lawsuit, don’t hesitate to seek legal counsel! After you’ve taken some time to review the legal complaint and the allegations therein, you can come up with questions or concerns and then you can present them to us!

Levi’s Trademark Infringement Allegations

To better understand the Levi’s trademark infringement allegations, we turn to the legal complaint. Here’s a selection of the claims of counterfeit as alleged by Levi’s – the full complaint is downloadable at the end of the article: 

Defendants have targeted sales to Illinois residents by setting up and operating e- commerce stores that target United States consumers using one or more Seller Aliases, offer shipping to the United States, including Illinois, accept payment in U.S. dollars and/or funds from U.S. bank accounts, and, on information and belief, have sold Counterfeit Levi’s Products to residents of Illinois.

Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the LEVI’S 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 LEVI’S® brand products. Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using the LEVI’S 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 LEVI’S® brand products. 

Counterfeiters such as Defendants typically operate under multiple seller aliases and payment accounts so that they can continue operation in spite of LS&Co.’s enforcement. E- commerce store operators like Defendants maintain off-shore bank accounts.  

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 Birkenstock Trademark Infringement Action.