- TRO case settlement process
01 Collecting and querying plaintiff information
In general TRO cases, the platform will notify the defendant of relevant infringement case information through performance (as shown in the figure below). We can obtain several key information through performance: case number, plaintiff name, plaintiff's law firm, and plaintiff's law firm contact email.
02 Retrieve the trademark, patent, and copyright information under the plaintiff's name
By searching the plaintiff's name and examining their intellectual property status, confirm which intellectual property rights are under their name (trademark/patent/copyright inquiry tutorial);
If the case information is in a hidden state, please contact Qingfeng WeChat: corsak26 for further confirmation.
03 Investigate the product and compare whether it infringes
Based on the plaintiff's intellectual property, investigate which ASIN in the store has infringed; Is it a true infringement, or is there a possibility of litigation and defense.
04 Organize store data
Count the sales volume of the complained linked products and the frozen funds of the store.
05 Evaluation of Processing Costs (Settlement)
Reconciliation is not the only solution, but currently the most common and stable approach. If you don't want to worry, you can settle the matter.
The plaintiff's law firm generally determines the settlement amount based on the frozen funds of the store and sales revenue.
The range of settlement fees charged by each law firm:
a) GBC will consider store sales and frozen fund data, and choose the higher of the two, with a minimum settlement of $2000-3000 per store; Freeze over $5000, usually around 50% -70% of the frozen gold; For frozen amounts exceeding tens of thousands of dollars, there is a chance to discuss about 30% -50% of the frozen amount.
If the sales volume is a few hundred dollars and the freeze is only a few hundred or a thousand dollars, you can form a group and settle the settlement.
b) Keith usually freezes 30-60% of the frozen funds, with a minimum settlement of $1000-1500; When the sales amount is higher than the frozen funds, a certain percentage of the asking price will be charged. For example, if the sales amount is 50000 US dollars, the settlement is usually between 1-1.5000 US dollars;
c) David usually looks at sales, and without much sales, most can negotiate a settlement of one or two thousand US dollars;
d) Flener will look at sales volume, for example, if they sell hundreds of orders, they usually quote tens of thousands of dollars in the first round;
e) EPS also depends on sales volume, with a minimum settlement of two to three thousand US dollars. For those with high sales volume, there is no upper limit to the settlement amount;
f) SCIP typically freezes around 30% -50% of its funds, with higher sales being another factor;
g) TME Law Firm is a standalone lawyer from GBC, with a similar style of "committing crimes" and asking for slightly lower prices. Approximately 30-50% of frozen gold.
The size of the settlement amount is also affected by the plaintiff, the infringement situation, the progress of the case, the frozen funds of the store, and the sales volume of the accused product link, but more importantly, the ability of the lawyer you entrust cannot be generalized. When the settlement amount exceeds the acceptable range and the store must be rescued, it is recommended to consult a lawyer to appear in court as soon as possible.
06 Entrusting a lawyer to negotiate a settlement
After evaluating the above situation, weigh whether the store value is worth settling.
If a settlement is required, a US lawyer can be commissioned to communicate. American lawyers usually reach a settlement with the plaintiff's lawyer through email or phone, and negotiations typically take 3-5 rounds.
During negotiations, it is important to pay attention to the progress of the case and avoid entering into default judgments. Especially in the Keith Law Firm case, once the 21 day defense period arrives, they will quickly apply for a judgment in court, without giving the defendant too much time to react.
07 Agree to Settlement, Sign Agreement
The final round of settlement negotiations is marked by the plaintiff's lawyer clearly replying in an email with "This is final and firm offer", and based on this, another round of negotiations may be conducted depending on the situation. But it is important to pay attention to whether the progress of the case has entered the stage of default judgment.
If a settlement is agreed upon, the other party will send a settlement agreement. After verifying the store information, print and sign.
08 Transfer and settlement funds
a) Wire transfer payment, direct transfer, the other party will withdraw the lawsuit to the court and platform about 2-4 weeks after receiving the payment, and the account funds will be unfrozen;
Payoneer, Wanlihui, AirCloud, and other platforms all have online payment functions for payment cards, allowing for direct payment; Or go to the local bank counter to handle the transfer, and it is recommended to consult the bank by phone first for specific information required for the transfer.
b) The platform balance is deducted, and the deduction time cannot be estimated. Generally, it takes 2-4 months to deduct the payment. The other party will only withdraw the lawsuit to the court and the platform after receiving the money, and the account will be unfrozen;
(Choose carefully. The platform's deduction of funds from your store account does not mean that the platform has already transferred the funds to the plaintiff's lawyer. The platform has its own review process and cannot estimate when the platform will deduct the funds, when the funds will be transferred to the other party, and the other party cannot urge the platform to deduct/unfreeze the funds).
09 The other party notifies the court and platform to withdraw the lawsuit and unfreeze
After confirming receipt of the settlement amount, the other party usually submits a withdrawal letter to the court within 1-4 weeks and notifies the platform to unfreeze the funds. The speed of fund unfreezing depends on the platform. If the funds have not been unfrozen for more than one month, the plaintiff's lawyer can be contacted to urge the platform to handle it.
In general TRO cases, the platform will notify the defendant of relevant infringement case information through performance (as shown in the figure below). We can obtain several key information through performance: case number, plaintiff name, plaintiff's law firm, and plaintiff's law firm contact email.
02 Retrieve the trademark, patent, and copyright information under the plaintiff's name
By searching the plaintiff's name and examining their intellectual property status, confirm which intellectual property rights are under their name (trademark/patent/copyright inquiry tutorial);
If the case information is in a hidden state, please contact Qingfeng WeChat: corsak26 for further confirmation.
03 Investigate the product and compare whether it infringes
Based on the plaintiff's intellectual property, investigate which ASIN in the store has infringed; Is it a true infringement, or is there a possibility of litigation and defense.
04 Organize store data
Count the sales volume of the complained linked products and the frozen funds of the store.
05 Evaluation of Processing Costs (Settlement)
Reconciliation is not the only solution, but currently the most common and stable approach. If you don't want to worry, you can settle the matter.
The plaintiff's law firm generally determines the settlement amount based on the frozen funds of the store and sales revenue.
The range of settlement fees charged by each law firm:
a) GBC will consider store sales and frozen fund data, and choose the higher of the two, with a minimum settlement of $2000-3000 per store; Freeze over $5000, usually around 50% -70% of the frozen gold; For frozen amounts exceeding tens of thousands of dollars, there is a chance to discuss about 30% -50% of the frozen amount.
If the sales volume is a few hundred dollars and the freeze is only a few hundred or a thousand dollars, you can form a group and settle the settlement.
b) Keith usually freezes 30-60% of the frozen funds, with a minimum settlement of $1000-1500; When the sales amount is higher than the frozen funds, a certain percentage of the asking price will be charged. For example, if the sales amount is 50000 US dollars, the settlement is usually between 1-1.5000 US dollars;
c) David usually looks at sales, and without much sales, most can negotiate a settlement of one or two thousand US dollars;
d) Flener will look at sales volume, for example, if they sell hundreds of orders, they usually quote tens of thousands of dollars in the first round;
e) EPS also depends on sales volume, with a minimum settlement of two to three thousand US dollars. For those with high sales volume, there is no upper limit to the settlement amount;
f) SCIP typically freezes around 30% -50% of its funds, with higher sales being another factor;
g) TME Law Firm is a standalone lawyer from GBC, with a similar style of "committing crimes" and asking for slightly lower prices. Approximately 30-50% of frozen gold.
The size of the settlement amount is also affected by the plaintiff, the infringement situation, the progress of the case, the frozen funds of the store, and the sales volume of the accused product link, but more importantly, the ability of the lawyer you entrust cannot be generalized. When the settlement amount exceeds the acceptable range and the store must be rescued, it is recommended to consult a lawyer to appear in court as soon as possible.
06 Entrusting a lawyer to negotiate a settlement
After evaluating the above situation, weigh whether the store value is worth settling.
If a settlement is required, a US lawyer can be commissioned to communicate. American lawyers usually reach a settlement with the plaintiff's lawyer through email or phone, and negotiations typically take 3-5 rounds.
During negotiations, it is important to pay attention to the progress of the case and avoid entering into default judgments. Especially in the Keith Law Firm case, once the 21 day defense period arrives, they will quickly apply for a judgment in court, without giving the defendant too much time to react.
07 Agree to Settlement, Sign Agreement
The final round of settlement negotiations is marked by the plaintiff's lawyer clearly replying in an email with "This is final and firm offer", and based on this, another round of negotiations may be conducted depending on the situation. But it is important to pay attention to whether the progress of the case has entered the stage of default judgment.
If a settlement is agreed upon, the other party will send a settlement agreement. After verifying the store information, print and sign.
08 Transfer and settlement funds
a) Wire transfer payment, direct transfer, the other party will withdraw the lawsuit to the court and platform about 2-4 weeks after receiving the payment, and the account funds will be unfrozen;
Payoneer, Wanlihui, AirCloud, and other platforms all have online payment functions for payment cards, allowing for direct payment; Or go to the local bank counter to handle the transfer, and it is recommended to consult the bank by phone first for specific information required for the transfer.
b) The platform balance is deducted, and the deduction time cannot be estimated. Generally, it takes 2-4 months to deduct the payment. The other party will only withdraw the lawsuit to the court and the platform after receiving the money, and the account will be unfrozen;
(Choose carefully. The platform's deduction of funds from your store account does not mean that the platform has already transferred the funds to the plaintiff's lawyer. The platform has its own review process and cannot estimate when the platform will deduct the funds, when the funds will be transferred to the other party, and the other party cannot urge the platform to deduct/unfreeze the funds).
09 The other party notifies the court and platform to withdraw the lawsuit and unfreeze
After confirming receipt of the settlement amount, the other party usually submits a withdrawal letter to the court within 1-4 weeks and notifies the platform to unfreeze the funds. The speed of fund unfreezing depends on the platform. If the funds have not been unfrozen for more than one month, the plaintiff's lawyer can be contacted to urge the platform to handle it.
