Infringement, counterfeits and marketplace disputes

What is happening

Goods under your mark have appeared on a marketplace at a dumping price, with your photos and description. Buyers complain about quality, your rating is falling, and the seller changes shop names faster than the platform can react.

The reverse: your listings have been blocked after a complaint from a rights holder who claims the goods are counterfeit or the photos are theirs. Sales have stopped, and you need to show the platform documents on where the goods came from, fast.

A claim letter has arrived demanding compensation for using someone's mark, image or font. The amount has been calculated at the maximum and the deadline to respond is short.

What the law says

• The remedies for infringement of exclusive rights are set out in Part Four of the Civil Code: an order to stop the infringement, seizure and destruction of counterfeits, and damages or statutory compensation instead.
• Compensation for unlawful use of a trademark is awarded within the limits set by the Civil Code or as a multiple of the value of the goods or of the right of use. The court decides the amount, taking the nature of the infringement into account.
• Before claiming compensation or damages, the Civil Code as a rule requires a claim letter to the infringer. Disputes between companies and entrepreneurs are heard by the commercial courts, with the Intellectual Property Court acting as the court of cassation.
• Copying packaging or product appearance, or trading on someone else's reputation to attract buyers, may amount to unfair competition under Federal Law No. 135-FZ of 26 July 2006 "On the Protection of Competition", which brings in the competition authority.
• Unlawful use of a trademark is an administrative offence under the Code of Administrative Offences, punishable with confiscation of the counterfeit goods.
• A trademark can be entered in the customs register of intellectual property kept by the Federal Customs Service. Customs will then hold consignments showing signs of counterfeiting and notify the rights holder.

What we do

• We record the infringement: test purchases, notarised records of websites and listings, and exports of seller data.
• We file complaints through the platforms' procedures and follow them through.
• We send claim letters to infringers and negotiate an end to sales and payment of compensation.
• We bring claims for injunctions, seizure of counterfeits and compensation, and apply for interim measures.
• We defend sellers facing a complaint or a claim: we check the claimant's rights, whether the goods were lawfully put on the market and whether the sum claimed is justified.
• We enter your mark in the customs register and set up regular monitoring of the platforms.

What we will need from you

• The trademark certificate and the contracts under which designs, photos and texts were created.
• Links to the infringers' listings and shops, screenshots and the results of any test purchases.
• Documents on the origin of your goods: contracts with the manufacturer or distributor, customs and shipping documents.
• Correspondence with the platform and the infringer, and any claim letters received.
• Sales and loss figures, if you intend to claim damages.