Are you one of over 170 Defendants named in a LifeVac “Schedule A” infringement lawsuit? As an online seller on Amazon or various other e-commerce marketplaces, the filing has affected your account(s). The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) froze your account balance. Which means, you have been blocked from actually touching the money you have earned from the sale of LifeVac products.
The amount of money in your balance in one or more e-commerce accounts could be in the thousands. As such, we understand that this might be a tough blow to absorb. Especially considering how difficult online selling is overall. For many sellers, this level of financial damage could potentially be devastating. In all probability, as a Defendant you may not even be aware of the exact reason for the copyright and trademark infringement claims put forth against you by LifeVac.
The mysterious origin of the alleged wrongdoing might even be intentional. If you are confused, intimidated, or anxious, we totally get it. Those feelings, though, are still not a good reason to abandon the frozen money in your account and walk away.
LifeVac Claims Counterfeiting
Generally, the Defendants in these Schedule A cases are largely e-commerce operators based in China. The language of the complaint specifically references this. It says, “Defendants are individuals and business entities who, upon information and belief, reside mainly in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions.” If you are a Chinese Amazon seller, you received the notice and may not know what to do.
Our firm has seen a huge amount of these Schedule A infringement cases, which are typically filed in Chicago. Major retail brands like LifeVac specifically file the cases so that hundreds of Defendants are lumped in together. And they do so in conjunction with a select few law firms working on their behalf. This provides the brands and their attorneys a somewhat unfair advantage. The merit of the allegations of infringement has not been established. Yet, because the law permits the claims to be filed regardless of merit, sellers like you are negatively impacted.
The Plaintiff most likely anticipates that the majority of the sellers named in the lawsuit will walk away. As a Chinese seller, you may not have a thorough understanding of the US legal system. You may also encounter a language barrier if and/or when you try to understand the claims or reach a settlement. Furthermore, it is entirely within the scope of reason that you are unable to afford the high price of legal fees.
Settlement vs. Default Judgment
Now, if you decide to settle with LifeVac, know that settlement amounts are around 60% of your frozen balance. To be clear, sellers may seek a settlement so that they can get their account unfrozen in order to once again touch the money they earned. And, if you decide not to respond to the notice and walk away, the court will issue a Default Judgment. The Default Judgment functions like an admission of guilt. When they are issued all the money in your frozen account is given to the Plaintiff.
As a Defendant, you have not been proven guilty of any wrongdoing. Whether the allegations of copyright and trademark infringement contain merit is almost beside the point. The existence of the lawsuit means LifeVac, and any other brand that files a Schedule A suit, uses a TRO to lock your money up and compel you to negotiate in order to get that money back. Indeed, some of the infringement claims may have merit. Some of the Defendants may be guilty, whether their actions were intentional or unintentional. The truth of the allegations, though, will only be brought to light after an examination of a given seller’s conduct has taken place.
Get An Attorney, Keep Your Money
LifeVac “Schedule A” Infringement Lawsuit
We urge you to RESPOND to the case. Our team understands the impulse to consider this situation a loss and the desire to move on. However, a lack of a response is a forfeiture of the money you earned! You should not unnecessarily hand over the cash in your frozen balance if you do not believe you have done anything wrong. Or, if you frankly do not know if in fact you have unwittingly committed an infringement, we can assist you with figuring that out. Taking legal action and having our attorneys on your side will provide you with a much greater opportunity to keep your money! That is our goal, to ensure you are not taken advantage of by an endlessly confusing legal system.
The allegations made against the Defendants include the following:
- Sellers design their stores to appear as authorized LifeVac product dealers, though they are not.
- “Defendants use other unauthorized search engine optimization (“SEO”) tactics and social media spamming” to manipulate consumers into visiting their unauthorized e-commerce stores.
- Sellers purposely engage in identity concealment and obfuscation to avoid legal culpability for counterfeiting.
- The Defendants are part of a “massive counterfeiting operation,” using rogue servers, “multiple credit card merchant accounts,” and off-shore bank accounts to circumvent enforcement of copyrights and trademarks.
Choose Stockman & Poropat, PLLC
Again, the merit of these allegations remains to be seen. If you take a broad look at our blog, you can see that the Complaint related to this case is very similar to the other infringement lawsuits we have covered. Which is to say, the practice of filing Schedule A lawsuits in Chicago has lead some attorneys and experts on this subject to speculate that there has been an abuse of the US legal system. The templated nature of the Complaints supports this opinion. If you would like to learn more about the topic, please read our article titled Schedule A Defendants Scheme: Chinese Amazon Sellers Targeted.
If you are a Defendant in this case or another Schedule A infringement case, contact us today! The team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is an intellectual property law firm with a notably unique knowledge of these often misunderstood issues. We have successfully obtained favorable resolutions for a long list of online sellers around the world. Let us go to work for you!
See below for a link to the complaint itself ⚖️
Up next we will be discussing the Pop It Toys Lawsuit.
