E-Commerce Sellers Sued by Rainbow Friends For Sale of Copyright Infringing Products

Rainbow Friends has filed a lawsuit to purportedly “combat e-commerce store operators who trade upon Plaintiff’s reputation and goodwill by selling and/or offering for sale Unauthorized Rainbow Friends Products.” The suit alleges that you are selling copyright infringing Rainbow Friends products to customers in the United States. Additionally, the suit specifies that you are intentionally using “Seller Aliases.” The claim is that you are doing so to obscure your true identity and the details of your business dealings. 

Defendant in a Lawsuit Filed by Rainbow Friends? Examination of Case No. 23-cv-02551, Copyright Infringement Claims 

At this point, your online seller accounts are stymied by a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). As an e-commerce seller, you are probably experiencing the type of frustration that accompanies these lawsuits. Let us have a conversation to determine if you have actually done anything wrong. Please remain calm! We are here to illuminate the details. We are here to guide you through any potential confusion. And, we are here to reset the equilibrium of your working life so that you can get on your way to making that money! ?

Developing a Legal Strategy: Rainbow Friends Claims Online Sellers Engaging in Copyright Infringement

According to the notice, authorized Rainbow Friends products include phone cases, backpacks, stickers, tote bags, bedding, stationary, and apparel. The suit posits “Genuine Rainbow Friends Products are sold only through authorized retail channels and are recognized by the public as being exclusively associated with Plantiff’s Rainbow Friends game and brand.” 

Sold Rainbow Friends Products Online? Copyright Infringement Claims

By all means, definitely respond to the notice you received! That way, you can steer clear of a default judgment. AVOID! It is absolutely not in the best interest of your business. 

As noted in the complaint, Rainbow Friends contends that multiple e-commerce sellers in China and other “foreign jurisdictions with lax intellectual property enforcement systems” separately or with one another, consciously run one or more online account(s). It says the Defendants do so in such a way that it is “virtually impossible” for anyone to know their real identity and/or apparent network. However, the notice further states that Rainbow Friends will revise these claims if the named sellers produce legitimate identifying information.

Equally important, you ought to understand that the online e-commerce platforms delineated in the complaint are Amazon, eBay, Wish.com, Etsy, DHgate, AliExpress, Alibaba, and Walmart. So if you have sold Rainbow Friends products on any of these platforms, that could be the reason why you were named in the lawsuit. 

Case No. 23-cv-02551: Defendants Allegedly Selling Copyright Infringing Products on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart… 

Be that as it may, the Plaintiff Rainbow Friends also states that the e-commerce platforms identified previously are responsible. How is that exactly? Well, they allegedly “do not adequately subject new sellers to verification and confirmation of their identities, allowing infringers” to get away with preventing people from knowing who they truly are with regard to name and address. 

Moreover, Rainbow Friends has accused online sellers of “designing the e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases so that they appear to unknowing customers to be authorized online retailers.” Which is to say, the Plaintiff is saying you are going out of your way to dupe folks into buying something they believe is genuine, but is not.   

Further Details of the Lawsuit Filed by Rainbow Friends Claiming Copyright Infringement 

In particular, the lawsuit describes how the named e-commerce sellers purvey “Unauthorized Rainbow Friends Products [] manufactured by and [] from a common source and that Defendants are interrelated.” Meaning, the Plaintiff suggests that you and all other sellers listed in the complaint know each other and actively work in tandem to defraud the public. 

Continuing, the notice argues that the Defendants communicate via QQ.com chat rooms and sites like kuajingvs.com, sellerdefense.cn, and kaidianyo.com to determine “tactics for operating multiple accounts, evading detection, pending litigation, and potential new lawsuits.” 

Another claim is that sellers are utilizing “off-shore bank accounts” to shuffle monies outside the purview of the Court in which this suit was filed, based on an “analysis of financial transaction logs from previous similar cases.” 

Accused of Selling Copyright Infringing Products, E-Commerce Sellers Sued by Rainbow Friends

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC is a preeminent intellectual property law firm with a stalwart team of attorneys ready and waiting to help you! We are aware that many of the claims waged against you may simply not be true. To boot, we know how unnerving this kind of accusation can be! Especially when it has disrupted the ongoing flow of your business operations. Let’s talk! We have developed innovative and seamless solutions to problems such as these time and again for countless satisfied clients. We are confident we may offer you the same!

We trust this content was useful! Peep our blog for updates on cases like this one and other legal matters related to intellectual property.  Up next we will be discussing Dyson Suing for Patent Infringement.

See below for a link to the complaint itself