I'm a minor and I sell on Ebay, can I go to court? Law firm wants me to pay $900.

If this is a real notice and pending litigation against you, the chances are very real. It only takes a little paperwork to name you in a suit and you don't have to be present to loose.

The first thing that I would do is call them and make sure that this is legitimate and seek some real legal council, or I would probably just tell my parents and get their advice. I know that sucks, but in reality, you were trying to make a buck by selling bootleg crap online. You need to deal with the consequences of that.

If you determine that this is an actual action against you I don't see how a mere $890 (Unless it"s restitution to defrauded customers) makes it go away, but consider this...how many people have you pissed off ? Will this cover all of them, because if no...the rest will keep coming once you pay..and will that be an admission of guilt that will open you up to a criminal action ?

You need real legal advice to determine if you are even liable in the first place since you are a minor although I don't think that you can hide behind that when you defraud people.

Either talk to your parents, or talk to a lawyer (free consultation), and get a legal opinion.

 

I was just about to post the same advice.

People seem very confident in advising you to ignore the letter without having to risk anything themselves. Here's what we know:

- the law firm that sent you the letter is real and they really represent Product Partners LLC

- a number of trademark suits against individuals have already been filed by Product Partners against individuals, so this isn't just an idle threat or "extortion"

- being the middleman in the transaction doesn't make selling the pirated discs any less illegal. And Product Partners has no way to know that you are "just" a middleman, anyway.

- they might cut you some slack because you are kid, but they have no way of knowing that you are, since you fraudulently claimed to be at least 18 by signing up for an Ebay account (and a Paypal account if you are using one)

If I were you, I'd collect all the information I had about the drop shipper, about how much money you've spent and made, and all correspondence relating to your business and tell your parents about your problem.

Here are a few of the cases filed against individuals, just so you can see that the risk is real:

http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=51262
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=49699
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=51241
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=51184
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=51216
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=49686

 

Yup. And that is one of the risks of asking so-called advice online, but...we're
all pretty much aware of that.

To the OP: while many lawyers do charge, there are some who offer an initial
free consultation. Look for one, and take advantage of that while you can in
your area.

Feel free to ignore their communications to you...and deal with the results of
that. At the end of the day, only you will be affected.

 

That's probably the best way to handle it.

If that don't work you may have to pound the hound. Go out there and defend yourself pro se in court. It will be a good learning experience.

 

I was in the same situation recently as you are now. Yes they are real. if all they ask is 900 pay and move on. If you don't settle they will file a lawsuit against you in Los Angeles. you are lucky that you ended up with 900. I wish I had to pay the same amount.

 

I recently had some of my auctions taken down by Product Partners, LLC. According to them, it is a copyright violation to sell P90X DVD sets. Did you receive any notice prior to receiving the letters?

I think it's against the terms of condition to sell this item on ebay. Ebay blacklists many items that are easily purchased in store but nearly impossible to sell privately on ebay.

I hope they don't go after me.

 

it depends how many pcs did you sell ?
are you referring to insanity ?

 

I like how zinvor1918 just joined the forum, and their first two posts are to encourage the original poster to settle, and to ask someone how many units of a copyrighted product they sold and what the name of the product was. Subtle.

 

LOL... so true.

hmm new member.. I guess the company is doing google searches!

 

As a minor, you're protected in many ways. The burden will be on them to go after your guardians. At the $900 price tag, it probably won't be worth their time and resources pursuing an underage.

 

I would also suggest that you should let your parents know about this. If this were really counterfeit,you were just a honest victim.The lawyer should be after the "big guy" that was wholesaling the product.Don't let that discourage nor scare you from continuing with your selling.Just look for another products to sell!!!!Good luck!!!

 

I too Sold a few items on ebay and then a week later got a letter from johhson & Pham tell me that I was selling counterfeit items of p90x products.. They want $893.00.. Whats up with that? On my listing on ebay it said for p90x Golds Gym Exercise Resistance Bands.. Can they sue me for that.. Its not a p90x products .. Its a golds gym product and not counterfeit. I need help just trying to make a few extra bucks

 

Your a minor... Your not even suppose to be on eBay. You sold fake product and violated trademark... now you need to face the music. You need to tell your parents and hire a CA attorney to defend you. If you ignore this issue, you could be in a great deal of trouble. As a law student myself... I know what I am talking about.

 

This is a heavy topic at the Modeeworld forum
http://www.modeeworld.com/forums/trademarks-vero/118-trademark-infringement-copyright-vero-issues-cease-desist-letters.html

and something you need to consider carefully before doing anything.

 

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If you knew or should have know the items were counterfeit, you could be prosecuted criminally. With regard to intellectual property infringement, you'll be liable for what you sell and your parents could be dragged into this. You may want to ignore it, stop what you're doing, and hope they go away.

 

Just stop selling and ignore them. Whatever you do, don't incriminate yourself. You can deny everything but try not to communicate with them a all. You'll get away with it.

 

so did the OP ever hear anything more from the lawyers?

 

You do not need to get a lawyer or worrie about anything, Do not respond to whatever they send, it would be one thing if you had thousands of copies and were mass selling them, but you did not, so just do not respond

 

since your underage I doubt anything will happen to you. My friend was telling me something similar and since he was underage nothing could be done. But that was just what I heard, who knows people lie or bend the truth.

 

Steps to survival.

1. TELL your parents. Suck up your gut. Walk in. Say, "I have something to say...".
2. CALL the company. Tell them you are sorry. Tell them the whole unawareness deal.
3. CALL a lawyer. Coax him into giving some free advice if he already doesn't.
4. If you are not clear by step # 2 or #3, let your parents handle it.