flyhighguys94 Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 So my Washington Capitals jersey gets removed from eBay by the Adidas group counsel. A message from eBay stated i could contact them to work it out, they have no factual proof the jersey is counterfeit as they claim..because it is not!! The jersey in question is an authentic Reebok edge Ovechkin Capitals jersey i got in a trade from another member. My question is, how do i handle this? I responded to them once they responded back, and this was what they just emailed me.... Mr. Lloyd: As you are aware, this firm is counsel to The adidas Group (“adidas”). We are in receipt of your inquiry regarding the termination of your eBay auction. Please be advised that your eBay auction was terminated because the listing was reviewed and the item in question was identified as infringing and bearing counterfeits of the adidas trademarks based on the photographs and descriptions you provided. Offering counterfeit merchandise for sale is a violation of federal and state laws regardless of authenticity disclaimers and/or completion of transaction. In addition, this listing violated the eBay User Agreement, which further prohibits the sale of counterfeit merchandise and mandates that all sellers must guarantee the authenticity of all items offered for sale through eBay.com. As a result you may be held liable for Trademark infringement. You are hereby on notice of our client’s protest in this matter as federal law prohibits you from offering counterfeit merchandise for sale. adidas reserves the right to use all and appropriate legal action in order to enforce the protection of their Trademarks. Sincerely, Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP The jersey in question is this one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhighguys94 Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 And these were my two responses to them just 5 minutes ago..... I understand all the legal terminology but what I'm trying to say is it is not counterfeit, at all. It was a $300 jersey purchased directly from the Verizon center where the Washington capitals play. As I'm sure you are aware the NHL has an agreement with Reebok, not sure if Reebok and Adidas is connected, but the jersey is NOT counterfeit. I would just like some kind of apology for you deleting my listing in an assumption of it being fake, if you would like pictures of the hockey jersey to prove it is real I can do so. I have been a collector for 8 years, I can tell the difference between authentic and counterfeit but can you? And... I would just like a more detailed description on why the jersey was removed. The jersey is deemed counterfeit by who? I have been buying and selling on eBay for 12 years and have not had one issue, and then the adidas group assumes my jersey is counterfeit and removes my listing without legitimate proof? I can show you all the proper tagging, along with the 7187a neck tag, the fight strap which is sewn down by twill, the mesh under arm gussets, and the xtrafil shoulder material, as well as the edge designed back panel...all things that counterfeits do not have because they are made in China and not Canada. If you would like more pictures for proof I can do so. With all of the sellers on eBay selling counterfeit products I understand the heightened sense of urgency to remove them, therefore I am not angry. I just wanted to make very clear this jersey is 100% legitimate and contains all of the necessary evidence to back it up. Have a good day, Kurt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenAnnesRevenge Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 So your legit jersey get pulled and you get the book thrown at you, yet ebay is littered with counterfeits and they do nothing? Are they threatening you with legal action etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thk25 Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I'd fight it and contact Ebay. I am a third year law student and I work in an intellectual property office, and to me this seems like they are fishing or maybe have outsourced their identification of "counterfeit" items to another company and they haven't conducted a personal review- nor do they likely have the capacity to do so. I wouldn't worry. It may be annoying but any threat of being "held liable for trademark infringement" is nil. I'd contact Ebay and plead your case with them because ultimately the jersey is listed for sale on their site, and they will make the final determination if you can sell it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR68 Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 There fishing. Dont take it serious. I sent you a PM so dont worry about it too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Red Wings Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Look on the bright side, maybe you can blow away the folks at Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP and they can offer you a consultant position whereby you can help them properly identify the fakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimcutta Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I would get in contact with Rbk/Adidas directly and tell them your story. Ask them if they're behind it and if so, demand satisfaction! Tell them how ebay shut you down, despite having purchased the jersey directly from a retail outlet. Just play dumb and ask the company if they condone ebay claiming your genuine Rbk merchandise is fake. Then threaten to boycot their merchandise unless something is done to right this horrible injustice (maybe reword that ) and make sure you ask for a reply. Who knows, even if they don't consider it their problem, they might end up sending you some swag regardless just to make you happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhighguys94 Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it. I was definitely worrying in the beginning but now i can definitely see they are fishing for anything they can. Chris, first off thank you for the birthday wishes pal. Secondly, how do i contact Reebok/Adidas directly? I dont even know where to begin to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 This happened to me a while back selling a Caps Varly jersey just like yours. Its funny because I wrote almost the same message... I was like hey doofuses, I can point out 999/1000 fake jerseys for you every day, yet somehow the people who make them cant tell mine is real? Get a grip, there are real counterfeiters out there. Its just frustrating as hell man. Id gladly report every single fake jersey on eBay but they disregard it and do stuff like this and cost legitimate sellers money. Id go out of my way to make Reebok/Adidas write you an apology and refund your eBay fees. What a waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhighguys94 Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 This happened to me a while back selling a Caps Varly jersey just like yours. Its funny because I wrote almost the same message... I was like hey doofuses, I can point out 999/1000 fake jerseys for you every day, yet somehow the people who make them cant tell mine is real? Get a grip, there are real counterfeiters out there. Its just frustrating as hell man. Id gladly report every single fake jersey on eBay but they disregard it and do stuff like this and cost legitimate sellers money. Id go out of my way to make Reebok/Adidas write you an apology and refund your eBay fees. What a waste. Did you get any further response from them? Because i was gonna say something about being harassed, im getting a hard time over a legitimate jersey and right now there are counterfeit hockey jerseys all over ebay with bids on them. It is weird though, i had a couple nike elite football jerseys i got that were fake and i put them up at 0.99 to get rid of them and they all got removed a week or so ago. So i understood that but Adidas/Reebok cant even pick out their own legitimate jerseys...what a F(&^*** joke of a company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatryk Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 happened to me... to I list free so I relisted it and didn't have a problem selling it the second time why put yourself through all the stress of contacting them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 they never wrote me back. pricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyOnTheSpot Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Kurt, as your attorney, let me advise you. Harassment: it's not harassment and they'll ignore you if you mention it, so don't waste the keystrokes. Removal: as long as you didn't lose anything ($), what they did is completely cool under the law. The way the cases have gone is that eBay is under a duty to remove and infringing items brought to their attention by the owners of that intellectual property. Adidas owns Reebok. So Adidas just says to eBay when they're suspicious or know it's counterfeit, "Hey, eBay, pull this." eBay then has to else face sanctions. Your problem is, as you admitted, you listed knock-offs that got pulled. Your account was flagged, simple as that. Anything you list for at least a month will automatically be suspicious. If you need help selling the Caps jersey, let me know and I'd be happy to for ya. Unfortunately I fear you're wasting your breath on them, but if it keeps up, I'm dead serious I'll send them a letter for you as your attorney. Dead. Serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girouxsalem Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimcutta Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Chris, first off thank you for the birthday wishes pal. Secondly, how do i contact Reebok/Adidas directly? I dont even know where to begin to look. I was gonna do that whole 'let me google that for you' but I got lazy...now that's lazy http://shop.reebok.c...ntent/contactUs http://www.adidas.co...ntent/contactus The only reason I think it might be worth the keystrokes to contact them is because a) it's legit, and you have proof of messages from ebay and b ) you never know - they might hook you up. I've known a few people over the years who've gotten hookups from writing a letter. The best was my aunt a few years ago, who bought some Halls from Costco and noticed that (in one pack only) some of the Halls had ants trapped inside them, all Han Solo like and sheit. Guess they got in at the factory. Anyways, she wrote a letter, sent a sample halls with an ant in it, and stated she was going to bring a sample to the CFIA here if nothing was done. A response came shortly after with a cheque for $5k, and a ton of gift cards for all sorts of products. Sometimes it pays to bitcch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMLFAN Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I was gonna do that whole 'let me google that for you' but I got lazy...now that's lazy http://shop.reebok.c...ntent/contactUs http://www.adidas.co...ntent/contactus The only reason I think it might be worth the keystrokes to contact them is because a) it's legit, and you have proof of messages from ebay and b ) you never know - they might hook you up. I've known a few people over the years who've gotten hookups from writing a letter. The best was my aunt a few years ago, who bought some Halls from Costco and noticed that (in one pack only) some of the Halls had ants trapped inside them, all Han Solo like and sheit. Guess they got in at the factory. Anyways, she wrote a letter, sent a sample halls with an ant in it, and stated she was going to bring a sample to the CFIA here if nothing was done. A response came shortly after with a cheque for $5k, and a ton of gift cards for all sorts of products. Sometimes it pays to bitcch. How can I get an ant into a halls? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferro39 Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 they are probably looking to throw a scare into you so that they can get you to pay damages. this thread is a great resource for cases like this: http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/copyright-trademark-patent/10825-cease-desist-letter-adidas-america-inc.html the long and short is that these big manufacturers have these law firms on retainer to throw giant scares into people like us--sometimes even if we havent dont anything wrong. i had a run-in with an nhl attorney a couple of months ago. they flagged me for selling non-licensed jerseys. the jerseys were real and the crests were licensed, but paired together, they were not licensed. fair enough. i immediately pulled everything in question and complied with the C&D letter i received, but they basically made my life miserable for over a month by putting words in my mouth and insisting that i could be made to pay damages. as i would come to find out, my biggest mistake was responding to them. they took it as an opening to shake me down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoCaps Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Wow, this is crazy. For all of us selling legit jerseys. And tons of db's selling fakes. And they harass the good guys?? Sometimes I just don't understand this world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferro39 Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 that's what was most disheartening. one of my questionable jerseys was a blackhawks edge with a reebok word mark under the chin instead of an nhl shield (i though it was a production sample), and they treated me like i was the mastermind behind some counterfeit ring and was churning these things out in my basement. i told them where i got it from. they also wanted a sales report, for me to send back the jerseys on my dime, and a lundry list of other demands in fact, here it is: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guam64 Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Kurt, as your attorney, let me advise you. Harassment: it's not harassment and they'll ignore you if you mention it, so don't waste the keystrokes. Removal: as long as you didn't lose anything ($), what they did is completely cool under the law. The way the cases have gone is that eBay is under a duty to remove and infringing items brought to their attention by the owners of that intellectual property. Adidas owns Reebok. So Adidas just says to eBay when they're suspicious or know it's counterfeit, "Hey, eBay, pull this." eBay then has to else face sanctions. Your problem is, as you admitted, you listed knock-offs that got pulled. Your account was flagged, simple as that. Anything you list for at least a month will automatically be suspicious. If you need help selling the Caps jersey, let me know and I'd be happy to for ya. Unfortunately I fear you're wasting your breath on them, but if it keeps up, I'm dead serious I'll send them a letter for you as your attorney. Dead. Serious. I figured it was you trolling him to drum up some business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalGoldenBear Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Wow, that is completely nuts. With all the obvious fakes on ebay, Adidas claims that yours is fake? I can't believe they sent you that message, pretty much saying, "Hey, you better take down that legitimate crap RIGHT NOW! You little federal law breaker!" So many lawyers and law students in this thread. Anyone looking for a Berkeley educated legal assistant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadHat Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyOnTheSpot Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I figured it was you trolling him to drum up some business. I wish, I'm stuck doing personal injury for the time being, chasing buses and what not lol. Kurt, I'm dead serious, if this get worse I'll do say something for you. You'd be amazed at how fast people back off when they hear "attorney." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroFishOne Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 All the reebok fake witch hunters got to do Is find all the size 48 edge jerseys. What a bunch of morons. Maybe they know its real but they are sick of people not buying their overpriced, Indonesian made garbage so they are going after the secondary market so people buy new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhighguys94 Posted October 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I find it completely ridiculous. I asked them for proof of it being counterfeit, i know they dont have any because it is not counterfeit. Its all an automated response and very poorly put together too. Im just worried, as someone mentioned above, that since i messaged them back it opened up the door for them to move in and press this issue further. Johnny, your the man and you know that, thanks pal i really appreciate it. I will definitely keep you posted on what happens cause this is absurd. And what, because this is only $22.50 it doesnt get removed? http://www.ebay.com/itm/RBK-CCM-Edge-Atlanta-Thrashers-Ilya-Kovalchuk-Ice-Hockey-Jersey-New-Fight-Strap-/321000796921?pt=U_Hockey_Fan_Shop&hash=item4abd2372f9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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