Marketplace Solutions Blog

One who purchases a trademarked good may ordinarily resell that product without infringing the trademark owner’s mark. This is what is referred to as the "First Sale Doctrine." This principle--a common defense to trademark infringement claims--only applies to the resale of “genuine” ...

Arbitration has become so popular, brands often include arbitration clauses in authorized seller agreements as a matter of course. However, in the fight to stop unauthorized online sales, these clauses can create a problem when legal action is necessary to pursue an unknown breaching seller. By ...

There are many reasons why people might choose to buy products from unauthorized sellers online. For example, there is the ease of purchasing the product over the internet, especially if the product is only sold through a select number of distributors; the ability to purchase products under the ...

Many brands today are noticing that unauthorized third party sellers are selling large amounts of their products over the internet. Some of these brands are working hard to stop product diversion and the related unauthorized online sales. Others, however, are not -- or they simply do not know ...

Courts can hold parties liable for Trademark Infringement under the federal Lanham Act for something seemingly as trivial as scraping off unique production codes (UPCs). Under the First Sale Doctrine, a purchaser of another's genuine trademarked good can ordinarily resell that product. In other ...

A business pursuing legal recourse against an unauthorized seller will likely find itself negotiating with him or her. Settlement agreements should be fact-specific. Thus, a business should not recycle a standard agreement and use it in every case. However, there are several things businesses ...

Brand owners and manufacturers are not the only ones with something at stake when it comes to online sales. Beyond the businesses themselves, authorized sellers are also concerned about product diversion and unauthorized sales on third-party websites. When companies arrange for their products ...

Companies often struggle with how much time and effort to put into curbing unauthorized sales. For some, the problem seems so widespread that the fight can seem fruitless. After all, selling products online is easy and most websites offering third-party sales are easy to use. But does this mean ...

Tortious Interference Part 1: The Knowledge Requirement In this series, we will explore legal tools to enforce contracts with authorized sellers and independent consultants. This post will focus on "Tortious Inteference". Sales are the lifeblood of any business. And having a strong distribution ...