Just got this email... Has anyone had any experience with dealing with this?
Please help.. :pry:
Dear xxxxxxx-xxxxxxxx:
Attached you will find a demand letter and draft COMPLAINT which relate to your intentional trademark infringement of Monster Cable® products. Please read these documents thoroughly, as they specifically address a federal lawsuit that will be filed against you in Los Angeles, California, on or about April 22, 2011.
Monster Cable Products, Inc. is aggressively combating rampant piracy of its Monster Cable® line of products and services.
You are hereby put ON NOTICE and should immediately CEASE AND DESIST from the sale of COUNTERFEIT Monster Cable® products.
Please retain legal counsel and have them contact our firm as soon as possible.
Ani Sakalian, Esq.
JOHNSON & PHAM, LLP
6355 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 115
Woodland Hills, California 91367
Tel: 818.888.7540
Fax: 818.888.7544
asakalian@johnsonpham.com Johnson and Pham
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !
ATTACHED WERE THESE TWO 15 PAGE PDF FILES :
Dear Mr. ED:
This law firm has been retained by Monster Cable Products, Inc. (hereinafter “Monster Cable”), to prosecute your violation of the intellectual property rights Monster Cable holds in its Monster Cable® line of products.
Monster Cable is the exclusive rights holder for all of the Monster Cable related Trademarks registered with the United States Trademark and Patent Office, including, but not limited to: Monster Cable®, Reg. No.: 1340229; Monster Cable®, Reg. No.: 1342164; M1000®, Reg. No.: 1513402; MSeries®, Reg. No.: 1623331; M (Logo), Reg. No.: 2799884; Monster®, Reg. No.: 2184002; M Monster®, Reg. No.: 3671565; M (Logo), Reg. No.: 3807024; Monster (Logo), Reg. No.: 2724015; Monster (Stylized), Reg. No.: 2774858; and Graphic Marks with Reg. Numbers.: 3568463, 3568464, 3562252, 3562253, 3562255, 3562256, 3562257, 3562258; 3641404 and 3641405.
As you may already know, or will soon learn, this law firm zealously enforces its clients’ rights against those who infringe upon, copy, counterfeit, or pirate their products and services. During the course of this law firm’s investigation into violations of Monster Cable’s intellectual property rights, we have confirmed your illegal dealings in counterfeit Monster Cable® products which infringe the intellectual property rights of Monster Cable. On February 3, 2011, our investigator purchased a counterfeit Monster Beats by Dre – Tour Headphones from you through your eBay.com listing, posted under the seller identity “XXXXXXXXX,” for the price of $55.70. This purchased product was verified by our client to be a counterfeit item. DO NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER. Enclosed, please find a draft COMPLAINT, to be filed in the United States District Court, Central District of California, located in Los Angeles, California, should you fail to comply with the demands set forth herein. This COMPLAINT, if filed, will seek substantial monetary compensation from you based upon your violation of the following statutes, and the common law:
(1) FEDERAL TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT [15 U.S.C. § 1114/Lanham Act § 43(a)];
(2) FALSE DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN/UNFAIR COMPETITION/FALSE OR MISLEADING ADVERTISING [15 U.S.C. §1125(a)];
(3) TRADEMARK DILUTION [15 U.S.C. §1125(c)]; and
(4) UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES [CA BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS CODE §17200].
This law firm is highly successful in obtaining judgments against infringers similarly situated to you. In addition to Monster Cable, we represent Deckers Outdoor Corporation (UGG®), Forever 21, Inc. (Forever 21®), Beachbody, LLC (P90X®), Guru Denim, Inc. (True Religion Brand Jeans®), Your Baby Can, LLC (Your Baby Can Read!®), CJ Products, LLC (My Pillow Pets®), Tre Milano, LLC (InStyler®), Antik Denim, LLC (Antik Denim®), and SIWY Denim, Inc. (SIWY®).
On behalf of these clients, we have filed in excess of 160 lawsuits seeking damages from those who have infringed upon these companies intellectual property rights through the trafficking of counterfeit products. Courts have routinely granted our clients substantial judgment awards, including more than 7 final judgments exceeding One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), in addition to a singular judgment of Two Million One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($2,150,000.00) against an infringer operating out of New York. A news article describing the circumstances of this judgment is enclosed herewith.
With respect to Monster Cable, this law firm has filed a total of 12 lawsuits, to date, in United States District Court, Central District of California. For your review, a printed list of these lawsuits has been enclosed with this letter. Monster Cable has authorized this law firm to negotiate a settlement of its claims against you. However, if such settlement negotiations fail, we have been authorized to proceed with the lawsuit, and seek all remedies to which Monster Cable is entitled. In order to resolve this matter without proceeding with litigation, Monster Cable demands the following:
1) You must provide a full and complete statement of your actions regarding any products or services that utilize or include any of Monster Cable’s intellectual property. In addition to the below, this statement must provide all information regarding your copying, manufacturing, importing, marketing, sale and/or other distribution of any product or service that utilized or included any intellectual property owned by Monster Cable.
2) You must provide a full and complete accounting of how you acquired the counterfeit and infringing Monster Cable products, and any other counterfeit merchandise utilizing the intellectual property of Monster Cable. This accounting must set forth the number of Monster Cable products you acquired; the name, address, and contact information of the person or entity from which you acquired the illegal goods; and the price you paid. You must present detailed documents and records that verify your representations and the documents may not be altered or redacted in any way.
3) You must provide a full and complete accounting of your prior disposition of any and all of the counterfeit and infringing Monster Cable products, and any other merchandise utilizing the intellectual property of Monster Cable. This accounting must set forth the number of Monster Cable products you sold; the name, address, and contact information of the person or entity to which you distributed the illegal goods; and the amount and manner in which you were paid. You must present detailed documents and records that verify these representations and the documents may not be altered or redacted in any way.
4) You must agree, in a format and manner that we determine, to warrant and represent that you will not, at any point in the future, engage in any transactions with merchandise that bears or purports to bear, or includes or purports to include, any of the intellectual property or marks owned by Monster Cable.
5) You must transport to this firm all counterfeit and/or unauthorized Monster Cable products that you possess, and to the extent you possess any digital copies of same, represent and warrant that such copies have been sufficiently and permanently destroyed.
6)
You must pay, by certified check made payable to Monster Cable an amount no less than Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) to compensate the company for its costs (investigative and legal), as well as the damages sustained by the company as a result of your willful infringement of its intellectual property rights.
This Demand and Offer of Settlement and Compromise will expire ten (10) days from the date of this letter. You are strongly urged to consult an attorney to determine your legal obligations and provide guidance. In the event a lawsuit is filed against you, and you fail to respond as required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, we will seek a default judgment against you based upon your infringing conduct. Then, having obtained a default judgment, we will be entitled to and will vigorously pursue, by all available means of enforcement, compensation from you far exceeding that which is demanded herein. This will include the placement of a lien on your personal and real property, the garnishment of your wages or personal income, attachments to your bank accounts and the seizure of your assets.
The settlement demand listed above is based on our current evaluation of the case. Please be advised that, with each passing hour, the investigative and legal fees associated with this case increase. Thus, the amount of damages sought in the impending lawsuit will increase as well. Accordingly, please consult legal counsel as soon as possible, provide them with a copy of this correspondence and the accompanying COMPLAINT, and ask that they contact this firm without delay.
WTH AM I GOING TO DO??!?!?!?!
