Gibney, Anthony, & Flaherty Letters

[bokaba]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I remember a while back there was some talk about cease and desist letters sent by Gibney, Anthony, and Flaherty demanding cash payment and surrender of merchandise from allegedly counterfeit items sold on eBay, Craigslist, etc. I understand they represent luxury brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Coach, Tiffany, etc.

I've never heard of an individual being served with a lawsuit for copyright infringement by them though I've seen petitions filed against large distributors and manufacturers. I was wondering if they had ever gone beyond sending a couple of threat letter by US Mail and email for someone who attempted to sell an item they (the law firm) believed to be counterfeit on eBay.

Past discussions make it look like they've never done anything beyond the letters. Given the cost of representation (I would guess they charge their clients $500/hour or more) and the high cost of federal litigation it would simply not be worth it.

 

[LordofBooks]

It's hard to say how far any client would be willing to go. Generally, attorneys will do whatever you want as long as you pay them, it's really up to the clients as to whether they want to pursue legal action.

However, generally, when it comes to corporate clients (especially rich ones like the kind you listed, Tiffany's, Rolex, etc.) they are willing to take people to court. The reason is because they typically already have their attorneys on retainer or have their own legal department altogether. In either case, it means that the attorney is already paid for, which means the clients have no incentive not to pursue legal action since it would cost them the same amount either way.

All of this means that if you're selling fake stuff, you probably should just stop in order to avoid a possibly expensive legal battle.