Ebay sellers described their experiences of being complained by GBC American law firm, which led to the freezing of funds.

I am a seller on ebay. At the beginning of 17 years, I suddenly found that PayPal was frozen. Then I received an E-mail and a phone call from PayPal, and they informed me that they had received a notice from the American court that my account was infringed. Therefore, PayPal temporarily suspended my account, and all the funds in it could not be withdrawn and used for turnover.

A few days later, I received an E-mail message from Greer Burns & Crain (GBC), an American law firm, which contained the case number, which may mean that they have already decided that I have infringed. According to the email, if I don’t go to the United States to respond to the trial within 21 days, the court will take the process of default judgment and directly decide that I lost the case.

After that, I searched the Internet for a few days and looked for what GBC was. What will happen if my PayPal account is frozen? What if I get an order to confiscate? I’m upset when I talk about it on the internet. How much is the fine? Can my shop remain open? What about the money on PayPal? These questions have been tormenting me until the trial more than 20 days later.

From the initial ignorance, anger, resentment to calmness, I read a lot of information and then asked a lawyer for help. Now I want to share with you the specific process that everyone wants to know and some of my experiences. I’m not a professional lawyer, I’m just telling my own experience. I can’t guarantee the accuracy of what I say, and I don’t take any responsibility. Just for your reference.

The case probably follows the following points:

1. If you find that your PayPal account is frozen, you must first check your PayPal email address, check the reasons for suspending your account sent on PayPal, and check whether you received a court summons when PayPal was frozen.

2. If you receive an E-mail from GBC in a few days (sent to the mailbox used when you registered your PayPal account), it will attach the case number, litigation documents, collected evidence and other information.

3. At the same time, check whether the product really constitutes infringement. The infringement lawsuit of GBC is not limited to any specific category. As long as the product has this model, it will be regarded as infringement. For example, earrings are in the shape of a cross. Selling these similar earrings will be considered an infringement, and selling clothes with this design is also an infringement. It may be different, but if there is something similar, it will be considered as infringement (I don’t know how the American court ruled).

In this case, the infringing products must be removed immediately, and I suggest that the store be closed temporarily. As long as the money paid by customers flows into PayPal, the funds will be frozen and cannot be withdrawn.

5. Most cases were conducted in the Northern District Court of Northern Illinois, Illinois, USA. Intellectual property protection in this state is particularly strict, so GBC brought the case here.

6. These cases are usually speedy trials. The procedure is to report the transaction (and listen to the plaintiff’s report on the problem) and hold a consent hearing week (to listen to the opinions of both parties, basically, China suppliers will not fly to the United States to refute GBC). Finally, 21 days after the trial of the case, the judge made a judgment (most of the sellers were absent), GBC got the defendant’s default order from the court, made a judgment by default (all funds in the frozen account may be deducted), and the case was completed.

7. The default order is usually:

First of all, the defendant was absent during the trial, and the plaintiff won the case directly.

Secondly, at the request of the plaintiff, according to the judge’s judgment, the defendant needs to pay compensation to the plaintiff ranging from 0 to 2 million US dollars.

Thirdly, freeze PayPal, which restricts the seller, and all assets in it will be repaid to the plaintiff first. If the amount is insufficient and the plaintiff reports it, all PayPal funds related to the seller will be executed.

Finally, regarding the store, AliExpress and Ali International, which are currently under review on EBay, have decided to implement it. Some shops are closed, others are not.

The whole process above is thus completed.

Because my account doesn’t have much money, it hasn’t been frozen much. At first, I looked up relevant information and lawyers online, but after reading some suggestions, I was even more confused. Some lawyers take money but don’t work, just keep asking for money, and some lawyers can’t do it, wasting their time. Later, a friend recommended me to find a law firm that has been doing such cross-border seller infringement cases for a long time to help me settle. Now my shop has started to operate and everything is normal.

Summarize my own experience. America is a country that attaches great importance to intellectual property rights. It is very dangerous to sell products suspected of infringement to the United States. Be careful and do your homework when checking new products. Now the whole world attaches great importance to the ownership of intellectual property rights, so the best way is to register your own trademarks and designs so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. As far as I know, there are nearly 610 law firms in the United States alone, including GBC(Greer Burns & Crain Ltd), which helps to protect the rights and interests of brand owners.

KEITH（Keith VocjkLQVgt,Ltd.）

EPS（EPStein Drangel LLP）

SMG（Stephen M. Gaffigan, P.A.）

DAVID（David Gulbransen）

DBL（Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, PLLC）

AMS（AM Sullivan Law, LLC）

HSP（Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd.）

Wait … The above are the law firms that have submitted more cases in recent years. Finally, I hope that sellers and friends will encounter such incidents and don’t go to the hospital in a hurry. There are good solutions, with our strong motherland as the backing. Don’t be afraid. Of course, I hope we all live in peace, and I wish you Mai friends stay away from these law firms ~