A large number of Chinese sellers have been maliciously sued for infringement, and some have won the case!

According to foreign media reports, since last year, several Amazon China sellers have been sued by a well-known Israeli university because they used Einstein's classic portrait without permission , which involved infringement .

According to reports, at the end of last year, a Chinese seller was sued by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem ( HUJ ) for copyright and trademark infringement for selling a mouse pad with a photo of Einstein on Amazon , and asked the US court to freeze the company's financial accounts based on the legal penalty mechanism for selling counterfeit goods .

In fact, the university sued more than just one Amazon China seller.

It is understood that the university also sued more than 140 sellers and companies for infringement , accusing them of trademark infringement, counterfeit goods, false origin names, copyright infringement, and violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Since these small sellers do not know how to defend themselves and do not believe they have the ability to do so , many unscrupulous plaintiffs take advantage of this and exploit them .

Taking advantage of language and cultural differences, HUJ 's lawsuits are mostly directed at Chinese sellers, believing that it is difficult for Chinese sellers to defend themselves in American courts .

Not only that, HUJ has previously used the same method to complain against hundreds of foreign e-commerce sellers and obtained a large amount of compensation.

But in fact, HUJ does not own the copyright to these pictures. Therefore, the defendant seller ’s use of Einstein’s name did not violate trademark law, and there is no evidence that the product was manufactured or provided by the plaintiff.

However, due to a lack of knowledge of local laws, a case that could have been won without a doubt resulted in penalties such as account freezing and product removal.

HUJ followed the same method and repeatedly took advantage of the sellers’ lack of legal awareness to “make money”, but it hit a big wall!

It is reported that in this lawsuit, an Amazon seller named dealzEpic was included in the defendant list because he used a classic portrait of Einstein in the public domain on his product .

HUJ stated that although Einstein 's name was not used as a trademark, his portrait was used as a product descriptor , which also involved trademark infringement.

The seller, dealzEpic , immediately contacted a lawyer to fight back .

In court , dealzEpic 's attorney stated that HUJ did not have a copyright statement and that the use of Einstein's name in the product names and descriptions it complained about was purely descriptive and fell within the scope of fair use as provided for in the Lanham Act .

In early August, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled to dismiss HUJ's claim, arguing that as a famous physicist , Einstein's classic image had been widely used in various products to commemorate his death for many years, and that this did not constitute infringement.

In addition, the court allowed the seller to describe the Einstein portrait as "a photo of Einstein" instead of "a photo of a famous German scientist", "a photo of a relativity scientist", etc. as required by the HUJ .

But the dismissal only applies to dealzEpic, while the other 139 defendants who did not counterclaim will proceed to trial.

Lawyers said that in order to combat counterfeiters , federal law allows sellers to freeze their accounts and remove products from shelves without prior notice. However, some people use the law to "extort" their competitors , causing those who operate legally to suffer unfair treatment.

Being maliciously sued for infringement is unbearable. Some sellers have successfully fought back, so sellers should not blindly accept punishment, but understand the relevant laws and regulations and defend their rights .

Seller

Infringement