Services

Dispute Resolution

The bread and butter of our practice is helping businesses resolve their legal disputes quickly, quietly, and affordably.

ARBITRATION

We routinely represent third party sellers in arbitration cases against Amazon. Online marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay require sellers to arbitrate disputes that arise in connection with marketplace sales. We represent sellers making claims against marketplaces for violations of the seller agreement, account suspensions, ASIN suspensions, fraudulent transfers of seller funds, and the unlawful freeze or withholding of seller funds. If you are contemplating legal action against a marketplace, we can help. We are often able to resolve these disputes through informal settlements without actually filing for formal arbitration.

PRE-LITIGATION

If you receive a demand letter or a cease and desist letter accusing you of intellectual property infringement, you need to evaluate the merits of the claim taking into consideration your business goals. We can help you evaluate the claim, explore your defenses, and help you resolve the dispute before it escalates to legal action against you. Resolving outstanding issues helps you focus on your business.

LITIGATION

We routinely defend sellers accused of trademark, copyright, or design patent infringement in federal courts around the country. Casey is admitted to practice in the District Courts for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL), and the District of New Hampshire (DNH). If you received notice that a Complaint or TRO has been filed against you, we can help.

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS

Have you been informed by a marketplace that someone has obtained a Temporary Restraining Order against you that authorizes the marketplace to withhold your funds or inventory? Were you named in a “Schedule A” lawsuit? This is a serious legal issue and you should retain legal counsel to advise you on the claims and their merits and help you negotiate a resolution (or prepare a formal response) to clear your name and have the TRO dismissed. Failing to respond to a Complaint can result in a default judgment being entered against you.

Marketplace Defense

Whether you are a new reseller or an established brand, we can help you understand the rules of various marketplaces, establish best practices, and guide you through any disputes or contemplated litigation related to your sale of products online.

Shipment disputes

Marketplaces often misplace or lose units from accepted inbound shipments. We represent sellers in making claims for reimbursement for lost, stolen, or damaged inventory. Once a warehouse formally accepts your shipment, they are responsible for your inventory.

Infringement (or non-infringement) evaluation

Do you think another product is infringing on your design patent or copyrighted design? Or have you been accused of copying another company’s designs? We can evaluate the accused products and give you our opinion on the strength of the claim based on the governing law.

Responding to complaints on AMazon

Sellers on the Amazon marketplace face many different types of complaints: complaints from customers, complaints from IP owners, complaints from Amazon itself. Many of these complaints involve sophisticated legal issues like intellectual property and product liability. We help sellers evaluate the complaints they receive and develop a plan to respond. We contact rights owners on behalf of sellers, appeal certain complaints to Amazon directly, develop plans of action when necessary, and generally help sellers keep their accounts healthy.

DMCA Complaints

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) revolutionized the way copyright infringement is handled online. If someone is infringing on your copyright by hosting or distributing unauthorized content, you can report them to the web host and the host will remove the content. On the other hand, if you are falsely accused of hosting or distributing infringing content, you can shift the burden and file a Counter Notice to formally dispute the claims made against you. We advise content creators on the DMCA process and defend people accused of infringement regularly.