E-Commerce Sellers Sued by Mattel for Trademark Infringement

Mattel is suing online sellers again! The company claims that e-commerce businesses have sold unauthorized, trademark infringing Barbie goods to consumers in the United States. As we’ve seen with many other Schedule A infringement lawsuits, Mattel has identified what they believe is a network. A network of what? Of online sellers working together to actively continue to sell counterfeit Barbie products. According to Mattel, these supposed actions have damaged the brand and cost them money. 

Though you should read the entire legal complaint, below we’ll include an excerpt of the trademark infringement allegations:

Mattel is forced to file this action to combat Defendants’ counterfeiting of its registered trademarks, as well as to protect unknowing consumers from purchasing Counterfeit Products over the Internet. Mattel has been and continues to be irreparably damaged through consumer confusion, dilution, and tarnishment of its valuable trademarks as a result of Defendants’ actions and seeks injunctive and monetary relief. 

Defendants are individuals and business entities of unknown makeup who own and/or operate one or more of the e-commerce stores under at least the Seller Aliases identified on Schedule A and/or other seller aliases not yet known to Mattel. On information and belief, Defendants reside and/or operate in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems, or redistribute products from the same or similar sources in those locations.

Mattel has identified many fully interactive, e-commerce stores offering Counterfeit Products on online marketplace platforms such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Walmart, Wish.com, Etsy, DHgate, TikTok, and Temu, including the e- commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases.

Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the BARBIE 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 Barbie Products. 

Mattel Sues Online Sellers | Trademark Infringement

Why might online sellers involved in the Mattel trademark infringement lawsuit want an intellectual property attorney? For starters, the Defendants will have to provide a response to the court. You may not have the experience or time to dedicate to composing the necessary response. And if a seller wishes to negotiate with the Plaintiff regarding the allegations against their business? An attorney will definitely come in handy. For some sellers, they may need to determine their true and accurate identity to clear themselves of the alleged wrongdoing. Altogether, you’ll benefit from having a lawyer in your corner to create a legal strategy for you. 

Regarding the response, it’s not something you should avoid! Pretending that the lawsuit isn’t actually real or applicable to you won’t serve you well in the long run. A lack of a response could give the court a reason to issue a Default Judgment. That’s a larger, more complicated type of outcome that will be costly. If any of the Defendants are curious as to the legitimacy of the Mattel lawsuit – it’s definitely real. Retain a lawyer and tackle the lawsuit before it’s too late.

Per Mattel, the named online sellers have offered trademark infringing Barbie goods on the marketplace. That includes sales on platforms such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Walmart, Wish.com, Etsy, DHgate, TikTok, and Temu. A wide range of Barbie products pertain to the allegations made by Mattel. And, if any of the Defendants are worried about how they should act, the first step to take is to speak with an attorney.

How to Approach the Temporary Restraining Order

Why’s the Mattel trademark lawsuit such a major issue for the named sellers? Mattel will get a temporary restraining order approved by the court. That restraining order will freeze the Defendants’ online seller accounts across platforms. If any of the sellers earned money from selling Barbie goods – they won’t be able to touch that money! From that point, Mattel will attempt to directly settle with the sellers. While that could appeal to some of the Defendants as a quick and easy resolution, don’t make any assumptions. The majority of settlements between sellers and the brands that sue them for infringement leave sellers with a small amount of their own money. 

The restraining order Mattel will slap on online sellers’ accounts can be damaging to their business. Not having access to your money can potentially place some sellers in bankruptcy. The sooner you address the lawsuit and act to find a resolution, the less damage you’ll likely sustain. Even though Mattel may have good reason to believe trademark infringement has occurred, your business doesn’t deserve to completely suffer just because of allegations. 

If you’re being sued by Mattel, contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today! We offer a free initial consultation.

Download the legal complaint below:

Up next we will be discussing the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger Trademark Lawsuit.