Trademark Lawsuit Filed by Nike
We all know that Nike is one of the biggest footwear and athletic wear brands in the world. Given their undeniable reputation around the globe, there are many counterfeit versions of Nike products out there. Recently, Nike filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against multiple online sellers. The brand claims that the Defendants have formed a network so that they can push fake Nike products onto consumers in the United States.
Where did this alleged trademark infringement occur? On e-commerce platforms like eBay, Amazon, Wish.com, Alibaba, Walmart, Temu, DHgate, Etsy, and AliExpress. Also, this is a Schedule A lawsuit. Which gives Nike the power to sue a list of sellers in one go, rather than separately one-by-one. Nike states that the actions of the online sellers named in the suit have damaged their brand. This is the reason they’re suing the Defendants.
Nike Alleges that Online Sellers Sold Counterfeit Goods
Part of the allegations in the legal complaint associated with the case say that the sellers deliberately mask their true identities. The supposed motivation behind doing that is so they can “make it virtually impossible for Nike to learn Defendants’ true identities and the exact interworking of their counterfeit network.” That’s right, Nike believes that sellers in China and other places outside the US have a counterfeit network. Allegedly, this network intends to fool consumers in the US into buying trademark infringing Nike products.
The following represents a selection of the claims of trademark infringement made by Nike:
This is a trademark infringement action against Defendants based on their unauthorized use in commerce of counterfeit imitations of the federally registered Nike Trademarks in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, and/or advertising of infringing goods. The Nike Trademarks are highly distinctive marks. Consumers have come to expect the highest quality from Nike Products offered, sold or marketed under the Nike Trademarks.
Nike is the owner or exclusive licensee of the Nike Trademarks. Nike’s United States Registrations for the Nike Trademarks (Exhibit 1) are in full force and effect. On information and belief, Defendants have knowledge of Nike’s rights in the Nike Trademarks and are willfully infringing and intentionally using counterfeits of the Nike Trademarks. Defendants’ willful, intentional and unauthorized use of the Nike Trademarks is likely to cause and is causing confusion, mistake, and deception as to the origin and quality of the Counterfeit Nike Products among the general public.
Claims of Infringement Made by Nike Against Sellers
Even though Defendants operate under multiple fictitious aliases, the e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases often share unique identifiers, such as templates with common design elements that intentionally omit any contact information or other information for identifying Defendants or other Seller Aliases they operate or use.
E-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases include other notable common features such as use of the same registration patterns, accepted payment methods, check-out methods, keywords, advertising tactics, similarities in price and quantities, the same incorrect grammar and misspellings, and/or the use of the same text and images.
As we said, this is a Schedule A infringement lawsuit. As such, Nike will rely on a request for the court to approve a temporary restraining order (TRO). Once the TRO takes effect, a literal restraining order will affect the e-commerce accounts of all the accused sellers. The result of that is the Defendants won’t be able to touch their own money! Any money your business earned from selling Nike products will be frozen and unavailable to you. It’s a frustrating position to be put in!
How to Address the Lawsuit and the Restraining Order
With the TRO in effect, sellers may be hurting due to the constraint put on their cash flow and overall operation. This gives Nike a bit of an advantage, then, if they should choose to try and reach a direct settlement with any of the Defendants. Some online sellers impacted by the lawsuit may see a direct settlement as a reasonable move. We want to inform anyone who doesn’t know, however, that brands like Nike will typically only give sellers about 60% of their frozen money in a settlement. That’s almost half of what you earned all on your own! What’s the way to get a better settlement? Hire an intellectual property attorney!
Settlements aren’t the only aspect of the lawsuit your intellectual property lawyer will help you with. At the beginning, they can draft and submit a response to the lawsuit on your behalf, which is absolutely necessary. And, in the event that you don’t believe the allegations about your business’ behavior are accurate? Your attorney can work to clarify those details.
Invest in Retaining an Intellectual Property Lawyer!
Some of the Defendants may be intimidated by the lawsuit for a number of reasons. Whether it’s the fact that they don’t know the legal system, how to navigate it, and/or because they’re being sued. Instead of getting frazzled, take action! You can invest in retaining an intellectual property attorney today and alleviate your stress almost immediately. Whatever questions or concerns you have about how to get through this lawsuit, your lawyer can address those!
This trademark infringement lawsuit will not just resolve itself. The Defendants have to take on the responsibility of handling it. To do that in the most effective way imaginable, you’ll want to have an intellectual property attorney on your side!
Contact our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC today for a free consultation! Our attorneys have a unique breadth of experience in trademark infringement cases and will develop a creative legal solution for you that works.
Download the legal complaint below:
Up next we will be discussing the Peanuts Infringement Lawsuit.
