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Receiving a demand letter/draft complaint
 

I have recently reviewed this letter from an authorized agent of Otterbox. This is what they said. Could someone possibly help me out? & What's the best thing to do?

Dear.


As you are aware, this firm represents Otter Products, LLC (“OtterBox”), the owner of intellectual property rights relating to all OTTERBOX®-branded products. I am writing in an effort to avoid commencing litigation against you for your intentional violation of OtterBox’s intellectual properties. Enclosed you will find a copy of the demand letter and draft complaint sent to you via certified U.S. Mail on or about May 16, 2013. To date, we have not received a response to our settlement offer and, as of this writing, legal counsel has not contacted our office on your behalf. Accordingly, our client has asked that we take the steps necessary to file a lawsuit against you in the Central District of California .



Through its own investigation, OtterBox has confirmed your illegal dealings in counterfeit OTTERBOX®-branded products. Specifically, on April 3, 2013, OtterBox’s investigator purchased a purported OTTERBOX®-branded product from you through your eBay.com listing, posted under seller name for the price of $19.99. The product purchased from you was verified by OtterBox to be a counterfeit item.



With the foregoing in mind, please respond to our settlement offer or have legal counsel contact our office within seven (7) days from today or we will be forced to file a Complaint against you. Do not ignore these correspondences. It is not our intention to be unreasonable, but once a lawsuit is initiated, we will protect our client’s interests to the full extent provided by the law. As you may know, through this law firm, OtterBox has filed several lawsuits prosecuting counterfeiters of its products.



Nothing contained in or omitted from this email shall be deemed a waiver of any of OtterBox’s rights or remedies with respect to this matterand OtterBox expressly reserves all of its rights and remedies. This email is not intended as a complete recitation of the facts or issues. It is intended for settlement purposes only and shall not be deemed admissible to any legal proceeding pursuant to Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and California Evidence Code § 1152.



Yours truly,



Ani S. Garibyan, Esq.



JOHNSON & PHAM, LLP

6355 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 326

Woodland Hills, California 91367

Tel: 818.888.7540

Fax: 818.888.7544

agaribyan@johnsonpham.com

Johnson and Pham | Trial Attorneys



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This message and attachments are intended only for the addressee(s) and

Is the account under your real or stealth information???

Well if everything in the letter is true about your business I hope you took down all listings already. I'd probably just abandoned the account if it was all stealth and never use that product again.

If your products are legit than contact them with proof, if not close down shop

Yes , it's under my real information & I have not sold anything since April.

The products we're ⊗⊗⊗⊗ & now I learned my lesson.

Do you know what's the bets thing to do? I searched on the forum regarding Johnson & Pham , and most mods / experienced user's said to ignore the letter however they stated "they have purchased a product from me & is counterfeit.

Any advise would be appreciated

Ah yes, Johnson and Pham are still sending out these letters. Let me guess, their asking for $5k, or $10k? plus give them the rest of your merchandise?

Also, check your sales...did you sell to anyone with private feedback? I can't remember who has the actual Ebay ID of the guy who is an undercover buyer for Johnson and Pham.

Like Dmshark said, make sure your items are 100% legit...which I doubt really, too many selling these otterbox cases but if they are legit, you have nothing to worry.

Their actually asking $20k & + the merchandise.

& I believe so. I know for a fact there is a couple who have a private feedback. When you look into my eBay account all my feedback is positive , just 2-3 are negative but not regarding the authenticity of the item's I had listed

The products we're not legit.

Should I possibly ignore it? I have read a lot of Johnson & Pham and people are stating they are not a real firm by meaning they won't actually take it all the way to court.

Any advise would be appreciated

Johnson & Pham DOES file lawsuits where they have purchased counterfeit products from sellers. It is true that they send many more letters than actual lawsuits filed. However, when they have purchased something from you and have evidence against you, the likelihood of them actually filing a lawsuit increases exponentially.

At this point, you should contact an attorney. You really do need some legal advice from someone who is qualified to practice law. Nobody on this forum, myself included, is a licensed attorney and we are simply not qualified to give you legal advice.

They are a real law firm, and they have taken people to court...The biggest suit I can remember is some dude had sold a ton of f@kes of P90X and was sued for like $2M. I would consult with a lawyer right away.