Schedule A Lawsuit | Levi’s Claims Trademark Infringement
Another Schedule A counterfeit lawsuit was filed in Illinois! In this instance, the Plaintiff is Levi Strauss & Co., also known as Levi’s. We have written about counterfeit cases many times in the past. This type of lawsuit has become very common among some of the world’s biggest brands. Why do they rely on Schedule A lawsuits to combat trademark infringement? Counterfeiting is a prevalent issue. Many sellers with ill intent do indeed sell unauthorized products online.
That activity can amount to many thousands or even millions of dollars in damage. A brand like Levi’s is not going to sit by and do nothing. Schedule A filing allows companies to claim a massive group of counterfeiters engaged in infringement. It saves them considerable resources and gives them an advantage to reach a resolution.
Claims of Infringement Made, Online Sellers Affected
Makes sense, right?! Certainly, it’s understandable. Simultaneously, any online seller may want to know how it affects them. Especially the sellers named as Defendants in the Levi’s trademark infringement lawsuit. If you haven’t already noticed, the main impact of the suit is that a temporary restraining order (TRO) was ordered by the court. What happens as a result of a TRO? The money in your online seller account(s) is frozen! The freeze on your account can definitely be a major disruption to your business. And, it can affect your ability to sell Levi’s products. Not to mention other goods that don’t have anything to do with Levi’s.
Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Wish.com, Walmart, Etsy, Temu, and DHgate – these are the platforms noted in the legal complaint. The alleged infringement occurred on these sites. Any one of the Defendants who sold Levi’s products on these platforms should address the accusations. Provide a response to the court! Even if you didn’t knowingly sell anything unauthorized, you still should respond. The lack of any response could escalate the matter and thrust you into the realm of a Default Judgment. When a Default Judgment happens, you’ll likely have to give any/all money in your account to Levi’s and then possibly pay even more in damages.
What Do Sellers Accused of Counterfeit Do?
How do you respond to the court regarding this infringement case? The Defendants should seek the aid of an intellectual property attorney. Your lawyer can work with you to craft a proper response that includes all of the necessary details. Using an attorney will greatly improve your ability to keep the highest percentage of the money you’ve earned from selling Levi’s products.
Some Defendants might want to settle with Levi’s. A settlement between an online seller and a big brand that’s suing them is a choice. Why would anyone want to settle with Levi’s when they’re the ones accusing sellers of counterfeiting? It’s a quick fix. It can give a seller the ability to address the allegations with minimal effort and investment and get back to selling. But we want to stress that it might not provide sellers with a fair resolution. In the event that you’re a Defendant who didn’t actually commit infringement, reaching a settlement with Levi’s might harm your business.
That’s because the settlements in Schedule A lawsuits are typically 60% of the frozen assets. The rest of your money goes straight to Levi’s! That’s another reason why companies like Levi’s rely on the Schedule A suit. They can reap thousands or millions of dollars in settlements, also with minimal effort. But for the Defendants who know they didn’t do what they are being accused of, retaining a lawyer is a better move! You may be able to clear your business of wrongdoing, maintain more than 60% of your money, and continue selling legitimate products to consumers.
Levi’s Allegations of Infringement… Levi’s Trademark Infringement
What are the allegations? They are contained in the templated language of the complaint. We say “templated” because the complaint is nearly the same as the other Schedule A lawsuits filed in the same court. The brand name, Levi’s, is inserted and the claims are as follows (in part):
“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.”
“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.”
“E-commerce store operators like Defendants commonly engage in fraudulent conduct when registering the Seller Aliases by providing false, misleading and/or incomplete information to e-commerce platforms to prevent discovery of their true identities and the scope of their e-commerce operation.”
“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 and regularly move funds from their financial accounts to off-shore accounts outside the jurisdiction of this Court to avoid payment of any monetary judgment awarded to LS&Co.”
Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free consultation! Our intellectual property attorneys have come to the rescue of online sellers across the globe who have been accused of infringement. We look forward to creating a legal solution for you and your business!
Download the legal complaint below:
Up next we will be discussing an NBA Trademark Infringement Lawsuit.
