dhs raided my store

Originally posted by goou111
dont you feel safer knowing the chinese shirts are being taken off the streets??

edit on 8-12-2012 by goou111 because: (no reason given)

Um, yes. God Bless America! Buy American Made Products!

Originally posted by Eldensword

Originally posted by goou111
dont you feel safer knowing the chinese shirts are being taken off the streets??

edit on 8-12-2012 by goou111 because: (no reason given)

Um, yes. God Bless America! Buy American Made Products!

i would love to but america doesnt make anything anymore..

Originally posted by goou111

Originally posted by nixie_nox
sounds like you got scammed by your Chinese wholesaler. The Chinese are notorious for selling knockoffs.

If you have proof from your wholesaler identifying them as authentic, I would take that and fight it.

Sorry dude, but NFL is wholley an American franchise. Why would you trust a country halfway around the world to sell authentic American products?

well i never thought they were authentic and never told my customers that

even had a sign saying these jerseys are not real we order from china

The real irony here is you really got in trouble because of the sign. If you pretended they were legit you would have made more money and stayed out of trouble. Someone probably reported you due to the sign. Your honesty did you in.

reply to post by goou111

Aren't NFL products made in China anyway?

well i never thought they were authentic and never told my customers that

even had a sign saying these jerseys are not real we order from china

Well that may be part of the problem. You were honest about it. Thats a neon sign to cops. Not the local brand but the busy national ones that need to find terrorism under every rock.

I'm no lawyer, but what about slightly altering the Jerseys so that they almost resemble the "officially expensive" ones? Like changing the logo so it looks like it, but not quite? Now you got the technicality thing working on your side. They can't convict if it isn't exactly counterfeit so they won't waste the time running you through the system.

"See your honor, it doesn't say Raiders, it says Raidors" I know, dumb example.

reply to post by Vaedur


im sure your right lol

but how much trouble would i get in if i was claiming they were real and charging over 100$

Originally posted by intrptr
reply to post by goou111

 

Aren't NFL products made in China anyway?

well i never thought they were authentic and never told my customers that

even had a sign saying these jerseys are not real we order from china

Well that may be part of the problem. You were honest about it. Thats a neon sign to cops. Not the local brand but the busy national ones that need to find terrorism under every rock.

I'm no lawyer, but what about slightly altering the Jerseys so that they almost resemble the "officially expensive" ones? Like changing the logo so it looks like it, but not quite? Now you got the technicality thing working on your side. They can't convict if it isn't exactly counterfeit so they won't waste the time running you through the system.

"See your honor, it doesn't say Raiders, it says Raidors" I know, dumb example.

thats exactly some of the things i was wondering about.

and why i wanted a trademark lawyer to ask some questions

reply to post by goou111

I think it would be like getting busted with a bag of oregano that looked like pot. Once they determined it wasn't real, you'd be free to go.

Of course you might not get as much on the street for oregano...

reply to post by goou111


You could technically change things around. A good example would be Calvin Klein's CK One fragrance. Chromosome XX XY smells almost exactly the same as the higher priced Calvin Klein version, yet Chromosome won in court because their packaging, formula and name are different.

Still, you will run the risk of the company bringing you to court and suing you for lost profits. If even one thing about your jersey's are not changed correctly they could very well win. The loophole is there but it is a tricky loophole to navigate.

The safest course of action is to never sell anything that could be even remotely considered a knockoff.

Originally posted by LuckyBamboo
reply to post by goou111

 

You could technically change things around. A good example would be Calvin Klein's CK One fragrance. Chromosome XX XY smells almost exactly the same as the higher priced Calvin Klein version, yet Chromosome won in court because their packaging, formula and name are different.

Still, you will run the risk of the company bringing you to court and suing you for lost profits. If even one thing about your jersey's are not changed correctly they could very well win. The loophole is there but it is a tricky loophole to navigate.

The safest course of action is to never sell anything that could be even remotely considered a knockoff.

ok the dallas cowboys colors are blue and white right?

so say i had a black jersey made with #9 and romo on the back but left all the nfl logos and tags off, and had no nike swoosh or trademarked symbol but it was still still a nice quality stitched jersey?

or even if i did it in blue and white without the logos and trademarks

they cant trademark a color or a persons name right?

reply to post by goou111


Taking off any registered logos is the biggest consideration. You can certainly use the team colors, colors can not be trademarked, however, the colors should not be positioned in the same way that the official jersey colors are positioned. I have not looked at the jerseys in question but I hope you understand my point. The idea is you can not create "trademark confusion." Your jerseys have to be undeniably different than the official jerseys.

This is a PDF document detailing trademark law. PDF

This is a 254 page document that should answer most of your questions regarding trademark practices.

reply to post by LuckyBamboo


ty for that link im gonna go read it now (well probbaly not all 254 pages ) (`~__~`)

Originally posted by dogstar23
reply to post by goou111

 

Honestly, we're way more than well-covered against terrorism, so while I don't think 10 agents was necessary, I'm glad they are enforcing this. I'm not happy for your loss, personally, but this is one of those laws that I support on moral grounds. You're looking to make a living robbing from the US and giving to China. Sure, you're robbing from US corporations, not a small business owner or anything, but still, those companies employ people, that jersey money, ultimately is money spent here. The cash you're shipping off to China for what they've stolen from the US, is just going right to China.

I think you should check where your fruit of the looms teeshirt, wife beaters, underwear, and socks come from. Afterward, check the labels of your office button downs and your jeans. The take a look at the labels of your shoes. Go ahead and look at the labels of your hats, your sunglasses, belt... anything else. Matter of fact... look at your football jerseys that you purchased directly from whatever store in the mall.

Now... explain how him selling the same items is robbing the US anymore than all of the stores that you shop at. If you buy from him, money goes to his pockets, toward is car note, rent, food, etc. If you buy from a large chain store, money goes to the employees working there and back to rent, food, car notes, etc. Some from both sides goes back to China for more merchandise. Try again.

I for one am tired of knock offs bc so many people sell them as real. You may have posted a sign they were fake... If so you're the first I've ever heard of.

I collect depression era glassware and people on eBay try to pass off fakes all the time. It's really annoying.

Originally posted by SilverStarGazer
I for one am tired of knock offs bc so many people sell them as real. You may have posted a sign they were fake... If so you're the first I've ever heard of.

I collect depression era glassware and people on eBay try to pass off fakes all the time. It's really annoying.

i was actually told by soemone i trust thats how you keep from gettin in trouble..

just tell em its fake they will still buy em lol

i guess he was right cause i wasnt fined or arrested

Originally posted by goou111
reply to post by windword

 

i think it shows that the NFl and NBA and MLB get to make up the laws and sick there dogs on whoever they want

The NFL is especially protective of it's trademarks. You should be happy it wasn't them that found out you were selling fake jerseys.

This is how corporations get prime areas for their stores. They spend a ton of money investigating your store, find something wrong with it and put you out of business.
Maybe your business will recover but this is just the start. If a corporation wants the land you are on they will get it eventually.

Gotta plug all those trickle down opportunities lest the big corps starve.

Originally posted by phroziac
I love how people defend the DHS here. Uhm, this isn't their job. They need a search warrant to do what they did. The OP's GOD GIVEN INALIENABLE RIGHTS were VIOLATED.

You don't need a search warrant if it's being sold right out in the open. Stop spreading bad info on matters you don't have a clue about.

This thread is hilarious. How dare they bust you for doing something illegal no matter how trivial. You knew what you were doing was sketchy, and if you didn't, well, that's just your own stupidity.

Originally posted by stopbeingnaive
This thread is hilarious. How dare they bust you for doing something illegal no matter how trivial. You knew what you were doing was sketchy, and if you didn't, well, that's just your own stupidity.

your right how dare they...

how dare they only focus on me and the one other guy sellin jerseys
but leave all the movies, music,shoes ,purses and synthetic drugs alone

and those guys are still sellin em now