Vogue Trademark Infringement | Online Sellers Sued Over Counterfeit Claims

Vogue is yet again filing a lawsuit over trademark infringement allegations! Online sellers will need to act responsibly in terms of handling this legal situation. Among the most responsible decisions as an affected seller is hiring your own intellectual property attorney! That’s where our incredible team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC comes in. We’re looking forward to working with you and protecting your e-commerce operation from further harm.

Vogue Counterfeit Lawsuit: Details

To shed a little light on the subject that is the newest Vogue counterfeit lawsuit, we’ll share a few sections of the legal complaint:

The success of the Vogue brand has resulted in significant counterfeiting of the VOGUE Trademarks. Consequently, Plaintiff has a worldwide anti-counterfeiting program and regularly investigates suspicious e-commerce stores identified in proactive Internet sweeps and reported by consumers.

Third party service providers like those used by Defendants do not adequately subject new sellers to verification and confirmation of their identities, allowing counterfeiters to “routinely use false or inaccurate names and addresses when registering with these e-commerce platforms.” Counterfeiters hedge against the risk of being caught and having their websites taken down from an e-commerce platform by preemptively establishing multiple virtual store-fronts.

Defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the VOGUE 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 Vogue Products. Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using the VOGUE Trademarks in the item title to evade enforcement efforts…

Stockman & Poropat, PLLC Knows How Disruptive a Lawsuit Can Be

At Stockman & Poropat, PLLC, we’re aware that this type of Schedule A infringement lawsuit can certainly be disruptive. And, because the Defendants are all listed on the same lawsuit, instead of getting sued individually, the allegations and actions will equally impact all of the sellers. Now, that doesn’t sound like it’s the fairest thing in the world, but that’s just how these lawsuits play out. At the core, our law firm wants to ensure your e-commerce business is protected. Not only will we maintain a steady, open line of communication with you from start to finish. We’ll also develop a strategy that’s particular for your exact business needs!

The severity of this latest Vogue IP lawsuit is evident in the form of the impending temporary restraining order, which will freeze your seller accounts! You’ll likely want to stay far away from the possibility of a Default Judgment, too. Be sure to respond to the court! The response is acknowledgment and prevents the court from awarding all of your frozen money to the Plaintiff. Not to mention, when you provide a response the court won’t issue additional financial penalties. It’s best to submit a response to the Vogue trademark lawsuit in a timely manner!

Vogue Sues Sellers For Alleged Infringement

To explain the situation a bit, Vogue moved on this trademark lawsuit because of the counterfeit sales they’ve documented. The majority of the allegations are built on the foundational claim that sellers offered unauthorized Vogue products to consumers with intent. Vogue’s response is the lawsuit itself. The brand is trying, per the legal complaint, to stop additional sales of counterfeit products, to stop loss of revenue and reputational issues. Vogue doesn’t want to see their trademarks getting continuously infringed upon, so they’re attempting to put a temporary stop to just that.

As we touched on earlier, Vogue’s temporary restraining order will result in the Defendants’ online seller accounts getting frozen. Typically, the injunction affects only money earned from the alleged sale of counterfeit versions of the Plaintiff’s goods. That’s not a hard and fast definite though – the TRO could also impact other earnings (non-Vogue products). All in all, the restraining order is a difficult pill to swallow. You don’t want something like this lawsuit to shove your business into dangerous territory, such as bankruptcy. That’s why retaining your own intellectual property attorney is arguably necessary!

Hire Stockman & Poropat, PLLC – Save Time and Money!

An attorney isn’t the only available route, though. Sure, any of the Defendants can work on reaching a direct settlement with Vogue, not using an attorney. But, in most instances sellers who choose this option end up with only about 60% of the money in their frozen seller accounts. For some, that may suffice, but for most we might assume that’s not quite good enough! If you’re interested in pursuing the full extent of your available options, consult with our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC right away!

Vogue has been an influential brand in the fashion space for a long time. They’re going to protect their reputation and brand with everything they have. In this case, the Plaintiff is seeking recompense for the alleged damage done by the Defendants. It’s Vogue’s belief that the Defendants have formed a network to more effectively carry out their so-called unlawful activity. As such, all of the named sellers are being sued in one fell swoop. Are the allegations going to impact each e-commerce seller in the same way? Not necessarily. And, the individual nature of each Defendant’s business operation is also why working directly with your own attorney will be beneficial!

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

Download the legal complaint below:

Up next we will be discussing the newest Birkenstock Lawsuit Against Online Sellers.