What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois
I recently purchased several sports jerseys for resale from a website that stated they were authentic. I even went on Ebay’s and Reebok’s site to try and find any information to assist me in determining their authenticity. There was no such info. After listing some of these on Ebay and selling a few of them, Ebay pulled all of my listings after Reebok stated they violated their trademark rights. Now, Reebok’s legal counsel is sending me threatening emails and letters demanding that I cease & desist the resale of counterfeit product, send them any jerseys I still have, and send them a check for $950 for damages and fee’s.
I responded to the letter stating that if they were counterfeit, how am I supposed to know? They said Reebok’s so-called “experts” determined this by the generic pictures I used. How could they do so from generic pictures alone? Nowhere in the title or description of the listings did I state their company name so it had to be by the pictures alone. Their legal counsel refuses to tell me what specific factors in the picture they used in their determination. If I had known they were counterfeit, I would have never purchased them for myself, let alone for resale. I also had no intent to violate anyone’s rights.
Do they have a right to send me such a letter? If they do try and sue me, do they have to prove I knowingly sold counterfeit product (I truly did not)? And do they have to prove intent to cause confusion?
Also, they have my full name, home address, and email address which they could have only gotten from Ebay. Does Ebay have a right to give this personal and private information to them without a subpoena or my knowledge? And if they say they did get a subpoena, do I have a right to ask for prove of such?
Any information or assistance is appreciated.
Thank You,
Michael
I recently purchased several sports jerseys for resale from a website that stated they were authentic. I even went on Ebay’s and Reebok’s site to try and find any information to assist me in determining their authenticity. There was no such info. After listing some of these on Ebay and selling a few of them, Ebay pulled all of my listings after Reebok stated they violated their trademark rights. Now, Reebok’s legal counsel is sending me threatening emails and letters demanding that I cease & desist the resale of counterfeit product, send them any jerseys I still have, and send them a check for $950 for damages and fee’s.
I responded to the letter stating that if they were counterfeit, how am I supposed to know? They said Reebok’s so-called “experts” determined this by the generic pictures I used. How could they do so from generic pictures alone? Nowhere in the title or description of the listings did I state their company name so it had to be by the pictures alone. Their legal counsel refuses to tell me what specific factors in the picture they used in their determination. If I had known they were counterfeit, I would have never purchased them for myself, let alone for resale. I also had no intent to violate anyone’s rights.
Do they have a right to send me such a letter? If they do try and sue me, do they have to prove I knowingly sold counterfeit product (I truly did not)? And do they have to prove intent to cause confusion?
Also, they have my full name, home address, and email address which they could have only gotten from Ebay. Does Ebay have a right to give this personal and private information to them without a subpoena or my knowledge? And if they say they did get a subpoena, do I have a right to ask for prove of such?
Any information or assistance is appreciated.
Thank You,
Michael
