Marc Jacobs Infringement Lawsuit | Sellers Accused of Counterfeiting

Online sellers may have recently sold Marc Jacobs products on platforms like Amazon, eBay, Wish.com, and Temu. If you’re one of the e-commerce businesses who’ve done so, that could explain why you’ve been named in a new trademark infringement lawsuit. 

Are you looking into reaching a settlement with Marc Jacobs? Lots of online sellers view this as a reasonable option. And, it can be. At the same time, settlements in cases like this one can leave sellers a little short. You’ve worked hard to build an online business. Selling goods to consumers in the online space is not easy! Making a profit doing so is even harder. If you were to settle with Marc Jacobs, you’ll only get to keep a small percentage of your money. Everything else? Whatever money is leftover from the sale of Marc Jacobs products that you don’t get to keep will be awarded to the brand. Resorting to legal counsel will often lead to a more beneficial outcome for e-commerce sellers! 

Why Online Sellers Consider Settlements…

What’s the motivation for looking at the possibility of settling with Marc Jacobs? When a Schedule A counterfeit lawsuit is filed in federal court, a temporary restraining order usually goes into effect. That restraining order freezes the assets in your online selling accounts. This could apply only to money earned from Marc Jacobs products or different products, too. It can place businesses in a precarious situation, financially. You need that money to continue operating, selling products, buying inventory, etc. While sellers have the wherewithal to take their own legal action, that costs money. Many sellers don’t deem it worthwhile to invest in a trademark attorney. Depending on the business, that may be true.

But, there’s some shortsightedness with making that kind of decision. A settlement can free up an online seller from the restraining order and permit them to maintain some of their assets. However, you may not entirely be getting the resolution you deserve. An attorney can dramatically improve your chances for a favorable outcome. Leaving you with much more money than you’d likely get from a settlement. 

The Reasons for the Marc Jacobs Counterfeit Lawsuit May Vary…

Are you questioning why you’ve been accused of counterfeiting? That makes sense! The reasons for brands like Marc Jacobs filing trademark infringement lawsuits aren’t always crystal clear. While it stands to reason Marc Jacobs has suffered from counterfeiting, the allegations against an individual seller do not equate to a judgment. That’s how the Schedule A lawsuit functions. This particular lawsuit has been getting filed increasingly by large companies because of rampant infringement. It gives brands the ability to name an expansive list of sellers, accusing them all at the same time. Not every single one of the sellers in a counterfeit lawsuit, such as this, are guilty. To a degree, Marc Jacobs wants to reclaim some of the money they’ve lost by alleging counterfeit and reaching settlements. We want to emphasize, though, that’s not the only path to resolution! 

Any one of the Defendants who chooses to ignore the lawsuit will only further damage their own online business. You have to provide a response to the lawsuit! The legal notice is legitimate, represents an actual federal lawsuit, and is undeniably real. The failure to respond would permit any frozen money in your online account to go, in full, to Marc Jacobs. It can also result in a Default Judgment, which is even more disruptive and costly. Please don’t walk away from the issue! You can avoid taking a devastating loss by pursuing legal action of your own in response to the lawsuit. Get what you deserve! 

Schedule A Lawsuits, Templated Language, and Allegations

A curious aspect of Schedule A lawsuits, especially those filed in Illinois, is that many of the claims made against sellers are similar in each case. The legal complaints associated with these cases are frequently full of templated language. The Plaintiff names are swapped out, the products that were allegedly counterfeited are specified, but the majority of what is termed “Unlawful Conduct” is virtually identical. These are some of the allegations Marc Jacobs has made: 

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 MARC JACOBS Products to residents of Illinois.

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

Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the MARC JACOBS 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 MARC JACOBS Products. Other e-commerce stores operating under Seller Aliases omit using MARC JACOBS 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 MARC JACOBS Products. 

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC Can Create a Legal Solution For You!

Whether or not you understand why your business was named in the lawsuit, you need to respond! An intellectual property attorney can determine the reason for you. The counterfeiting allegations have a real-world effect. In certain instances, settlements can make sense. More often, an attorney can give you the power to hold onto more of your hard-earned money than a settlement.

Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free consultation! We can help create a legal solution that works for you!

Download the legal complaint below:

Up next we will be discussing the Volkswagen Counterfeit Lawsuit.