Online Sellers Sued by Marshall Amplification For Trademark Infringement

Marshall Amplification is suing e-commerce operators for violating the protection of their intellectual property. This is what’s commonly referred to as a trademark infringement lawsuit. The Plaintiff filed the case in federal court with the aim of stopping the named sellers from apparently damaging their brand. What are the details of the infringement allegations? Let’s view a selection of the claims, taken directly from the legal complaint. 

Marshall alleges the following:

Many Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the Marshall 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 Marshall Products. 

Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using Marshall 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 Marshall Products.

Counterfeiters such as Defendants typically operate under multiple seller aliases and payment accounts so that they can continue operation in spite of Marshall’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 Marshall.

Defendants are working in active concert to knowingly and willfully manufacture, import, distribute, offer for sale, and sell Counterfeit Marshall Products in the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences.

Why Is Marshall Suing Online Sellers?

Are you affected by this trademark lawsuit and wondering the reason why you’re being sued? The baseline reason is that Marshall doesn’t want to have their reputation damaged by counterfeiting. According to the Plaintiff’s allegations, the infringement on their intellectual property has caused them to experience financial loss. The claims of counterfeiting extend beyond that, too, as seen in the legal complaint. Now, is what Marshall is saying about the sellers’ actions true? That’s something the court will have to determine. But even though the claims remain in the realm of allegations, the Defendants are still impacted nonetheless. If anyone dealing with the lawsuit should wish to take their own action, know that you’ve got the right to do so. Retaining an intellectual property attorney is certainly the most reasonable place to start!

Why should sellers seek out the help of a trademark lawyer? Perhaps it need not be said, but an experienced intellectual property lawyer knows the legal system quite well! You’ve already possibly sustained losses of your own because of the lawsuit. Why subject yourself to additional losses if that isn’t necessary?! You not only have the right, you also deserve to leverage your agency as an online seller. Hiring a lawyer isn’t so much of an option as it is a requirement if you want to successfully navigate this situation and save time and money. The biggest detriment to your business caused by the lawsuit is what’s called a temporary restraining order. The aid of an attorney is especially beneficial when it comes to addressing the restraining order!

Your Attorney Can Help Answer Your Questions About Trademark Lawsuits

For any questions regarding the allegations of trademark infringement, you can also rely on your attorney for clarification. Some of the language included in the legal complaint might lead to confusion. A majority of the language in the complaint is legalese, as it stands, and that isn’t always the most straightforward. Therefore, having an attorney to discuss the actions you may take, depending on the particulars of your business, is super helpful! But even before you enter into that discussion, read through the legal complaint yourself. Be as prepared as you can be for your initial attorney consultation so that you can readily ask the questions you need to. Perhaps you’re based in China or elsewhere outside the United States. That’s perfectly ok! We’ve worked with online sellers around the world. Wherever your business is located, our US-based firm can offer you the services you require.

What we can’t stress enough with Schedule A trademark lawsuits is the need to respond to the court. Without question, the online sellers being sued by Marshall have to provide a response. Sure, you could choose not to do that, but then you might have to face a Default Judgment. With a Default Judgment, sellers will be dealing with a more difficult, more costly outcome. Easily avoid that snag by submitting a response to the court in which the suit was filed. Some Defendants want to act as though the lawsuit will resolve itself. Well, unfortunately that’s not what will occur. You, the seller, have to respond, take action, and seek a resolution yourself.

Retain a Lawyer to Maximize Your Options

What about settlements? Can sellers negotiate directly for a settlement with Marshall? Indeed, Defendants may opt to enter into negotiations with the Plaintiff themselves. We like to inform sellers that direct settlements may result in less-than-fair outcomes. Based on industry research, the likely result of that kind of effort will be around half of your frozen money. To clarify, your online seller accounts will be frozen once the temporary restraining order is approved. In other words, sellers won’t have access to the money generated from the sale of Marshall products. The restraining order might also apply to money earned from selling other, unrelated goods. Maybe a direct settlement seems like a quick way to move on, but it might not prove to be the most sound long-term decision. Having your lawyer negotiate for you will most often lead to more successful resolutions for sellers.

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

Download the legal complaint below:

Up next we will be discussing the September 2024 General Motors Federal Trademark Lawsuit.