PLease Help I think I am being sued by a US company

[thewatchman]

I am new here but starting to read through the information whilst spinning in a panic following an email I received today. I have received an email the following US law company siting this case?

https://www.sriplaw.com/tm-co-fl-counte ... -cv-22046/

I am not expecting anyone to read this in full but someone more familiar with law may just be able to decipher what this means and how serious this is.

I would like to clarify that it states that I am selling counterfeit products which is due to a technicality that I was unaware of. I was not selling fake Rolex products, passing them off as genuine.

I sell watch straps on ebay and watch straps made from a single piece of nylon are commonly referred to as 'nato' straps. Well as it transpires someone in USA has the trade mark to the word 'nato' when referring to nylon watch straps. Considering that the word is in common usage, I was completely oblivious to this. However, as a result of this they have put forward this case. Against me and many many others.

Maybe I have infringed on a trademark but this was accidental and due to not realising that a word such as nato could be trademarked. Following a notification from eBay, I removed this word from my listings and in reality I probably sold about £250 worth of straps using the word "nato" on the listing.

I am based in U.K. and most of my sales will have been within the U.K. I have possibly sold some straps to USA but I ship through ebay who handle international shipping - so I do no actually know where the items ended up. (eBay have a shipping depot where they in turn distribute internationally).

Can anyone confirm for me if this is genuine? I've assumed that it is. Can anyone point me in the right direction for what I should do?
- Is it best to reach out and try and settle?
- Looking at the number of people whom they have listed is this someone just trying their luck and it will just go away?
- Do I need a lawyer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If the above is not clear I am happy to try and explain further. My head is in a spin worrying about

[AndyJ]

Hi thewatchman and welcome,

If you haven't already done so, read the following threads, which deal with much the same type of complaint, albeit emanating from a different law firm:
viewtopic.php?t=3102
viewtopic.php?t=3532
viewtopic.php?t=3693
Although this all sounds very official and alarming, I think it is largely theatre dressed up to look that way. The Florida courts have no jurisdiction over you and if you are prepared to sacrifice your Ebay presence, which will probably be closed down anyway by Ebay, then you probably don't need to do anything about this claim.

[thewatchman]

Ok thank you for taking the time to respond. I will take a look through these threads. As you say the communications which received seem very threatening but as you describe wondered if it was more scare tactics

[Redsub]

Had very similar email via eBay this morning with regards using a word in a watch strap listing. Email goes as follows:

International Watchman has filed a lawsuit in the United States claiming that your account was used to sell products that infringe the plaintiff’s trademarks, copyrights or patents. Please take this notice seriously.  If you ignore this matter, the court may rule that you have forfeited your legal defense and the court may force eBay to permanently disable your account.  International Watchman can be contacted through their attorneys at the following email address:

control@sriplaw.com
Court Order Details
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Plaintiff: International Watchman
Trademark/Copyright/Patent at issue: NATO Trademark
Court Case Title: 24-cv-22046; International Watchman v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule “A”






Any advise as what to do if anything?

Thanks in advance