HELP! I'm just a kid! being accused of infringement

[UKStudent]

Please could someone give me some advice.

I am a student who lives in a England.
18 years old.

I wrote a piece of software for a handheld computer which
has a button which you press and it gives you a yes or no
answer.

I have been selling this product for about a year now
online via a 3rd party site who collects payment etc and
sends a check to me for the royalties.

I recently received an email from U.S lawyers representing a VERY large toy company claiming that my software program infringes their patent/design/trademark rights in a well known toy that they sell. The name of my product contained the word "ball", and the yes/no answers were the same but there are at least 5 other companies/ people selling products which are even more similar to their toy and I thought that due to the simple nature of the software that it was not infringing.

I have no company, money or trademarks etc I have just left school. This has come as a big surprise to me.

The lawyers have requested that I cease and desist from marketing selling the product and that I give them accounts of my sales and downloads of the product so that they can ask me for settlement for damages, infringement, unfair competition, dilution, and other things I have no idea about.

The product has been sold less than 50 times and has made me personally less than $40 over 1 year.

I have no money and I am scared of the legal repercussions.
Is there a limit to the amount they can ask me for ?
I have no money how can I pay them. I don't even know how to send money to the USA.

Somebody please HELP ME I don't know what to do

 

[T-DESIGNER]

I am not an attorney.

If you do not think you are infringing on their patent/etc, you
might get a response from an attorney on this board if you
mention (1) the name of the toy and any web sites where it
is sold, and (2) the name of your program and the name of
the web site where your program is being sold/downloaded.

If you think you are infringing on their patent/etc, you could
reply to the lawyers in the U.S. and basically tell them what
you've said here. If you did get the idea from the toy, tell
them you did not realize you were doing anything wrong.
If you stop advertising your product over the internet, they
will probably just forget about it; however, they may still
want records of your sales.

Or, you could reply and tell them you've made a million
dollars off their toy and you are retiring to the Bahamas.

 

[UKStudent]

My software was being sold at

http://www.handango.com/

I am not sure if the toy is sold online or not it is very well known.
A black ball that gives you replies to yes or no questions.

 

[UKStudent]

This is the letter with the names blanked out. Because I don't know what the consequences of "publishing" the names of the products would be:

Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is sent to demand that you cease and desist from the sale, marketing, advertising, and distribution of the **** downloadable computer game (the “infringing product”). We also demand that you provide our client with a full accounting and a subsequent payment, as described below.
We represent ****, who owns all trademark, trade dress, and other rights associated with the **** toy. **** has federally registered the mark ****, bearing U.S. Reg. No. ****.
The **** has been continuously sold by ****, or its predecessors in interest, since 1950. **** sells approximately one million units of the **** annually, and has gone to great lengths to promote and protect its rights in the **** toy. As a result, the mark and product configuration that identifies this toy have become famous in the United States and throughout the world, and are associated exclusively with ****.
We have learned that, without ****’s knowledge or consent, you have been selling, marketing, advertising, and distributing the infringing product over the internet. The infringing product is identified by the mark ****, which infringes and dilutes ****’s trademark rights in the mark ****. Further, the infringing product displays an image confusingly similar to the **** on the user’s computer screen, which infringes ****’s rights in the **** product configuration. Your webpage showing the infringing product is located at **** for your reference.
The sale, marketing, advertising, and distribution of the infringing product demonstrates a total and willful disregard for the intellectual property rights of ****. Such marketing, advertising, sale, and distribution constitutes trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and dilution under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125(a) and (c). The unauthorized use of our client’s trademark in the manner described above also infringes and dilutes our client’s registered trademark ****. Your actions also constitute unfair competition under California law and the Lanham Act.
The remedies available to **** for your trademark and trade dress infringement and acts of false designation of origin, dilution, and unfair competition include its actual damages, statutory damages, profits, and a nationwide injunction against any further acts of infringement. Moreover, given the blatant and willful nature of the infringement, **** would likely be entitled to an award of its attorneys’ fees incurred in bringing an action against you. Please note, however, that the above is not intended to be a complete listing of ****’s rights, and **** reserves the right to assert other claims not stated herein.
Therefore, we demand that you agree in writing to immediately: (1) cease and desist from the marketing, advertising, sale, and distribution of the infringing product and (2) provide us with an accounting based on your company’s infringement, so that we may calculate a reasonable settlement amount that you will pay **** to compensate for its infringement of ****’s intellectual property rights. The accounting must state the number of infringing products downloaded from your site and the total amount of revenue you have generated through the sale of the ****.
Unless we receive a written response from you by April 25, 2002, indicating your intention to comply with the above demands, we will advise **** to seek all remedies available to it for your unlawful acts. We look forward to your prompt response.

 

[JETX]

Considering the very small amount that they could recover, they are NOT going to pursue anything against you... especially since you are not within the jurisdiction of the US.

Simply, what you have received is a very common 1st letter and most parties will hope that you get worried and 'fold up'. At this point, you have a choice....
1) Ignore them entirely (for now). You can always respond later if they seem to be escalating the issue.
2) You could respond to them that your net revenue from this 'claimed' infringment is about $40 over a years time. Include that you might consider removing their 'claimed infringement' and then ask for them to provide all documents that they have to support their claim of infringement. With the small amount of potential recovery, this step alone may just stop them in their tracks.

Your call.

 

[UKStudent]

Thankyou for the replys I have other fears though:

What is to stop them from demanding a sum that I could not possibly pay such as $1m ?

If they have an international patent (I know nothing about finding out information about this) could they not get somebody to prosecute me on their behalf in the UK given that they are an international company and sell their toy in the UK as well ?

If I have commited an infringement what is the maximum penalty ?

 

[UKStudent]

Is the amount they could take from me limited to the money I have made from the claimed infringement ?

Because I would not mind giving up 100% of the money($40) I have made from this to settle this problem because I spent like 10 minutes making the program and I don't want any trouble.