I sell online, and one day I got an order for some stickers for an anime char. I'm not a very big anime fan... So I thought it was a hand drawn one, and the person who wanted the stickers was the one who drew it - I was wrong... I printed them 50 stickers, all of the same image - Not 2 months later I get a letter from a lawyer saying I'm part of a lawsuit for infringing on their property theft. The letter came from a lawyer in Colorado...and I'm in Canada, so I figured screw it, I'd ignore it and I didnt care... I used to torrent a lot as a kid and I got those letters everyday. This time I knew I didnt torrent, or do anything illegal so I ignored it. Then a month later I got a reminder saying I was going to get a default judgement against me if I did not settle before hand. I did some googling... turns out they represented a company that makes Hatsune miku - Some digital singer people go crazy over... I google her, and sure enough it was those stickers.
Being Canadian I didn't care too much... but I figured I'd e-mail them to straighten it out, just incase I got into trouble at the border. They sent me a photo of the invoice from the person who bought the stickers and said I had no right to reproduce it... Fair enough, innocent mistake - I showed them my listings and all the stuff I usually print.. told them I wasnt aware it was their IP, and thought it was hand drawn. Heres a word for word reply... Minus removing any info people can google and find the lawsuit with.
"Thank you for reaching out to us in this matter and for providing additional details about yourself and your store. As you know, our client, found that you were infringing its xx trademarks by offering for sale the product in the attached evidence. You may find the court pleadings and other relevant documents here:
Considering that you are a small seller and not the type of mass infringer that this lawsuit intended to target, our client would agree to a settlement of $2,000 to resolve the matter, which would include the reactivation of your store and a dismissal from the lawsuit.
Please respond at your earliest convenience."
I got mass sued along with 340 other people. I replied to them, saying $2000 for printing something someone asked me to, that I thought they owned is a bit steep - That I see I infinged on their property, not knowingly - all I made was $50 on the sale, provided them with the invoice... And said will I admit fault, I would gladly make restitutions that made sense - They told me to counter... then rejected my counter and said $1000 was the lowest they would go. I did some googling... and this company constantly mass sues people, and constantly gets default judgements in the tune of hundreds of thousands awarded to them - so I said screw it, paid the 1K... And now if I'm printing something that looks professional... I reverse image search to make sure its not someone elses IP.
I probably could have fought it and won - but a lawyer would cost me more than 1K. And thats what they count on....
I wouldn't ever touch anything copyrighted. If coke cola came to me and asked for a coke sign? Sure... If a store came to me and said they were running a coke promotion and wanted me to print them a coke banner? Nope... not worth it. Sure coke probably wouldn't care... But the companies authorized to print coke might... And all it takes is 1 case to lose your business. A lot of people dont care, and I;'m sure 99% of people wont get caught - but why risk losing your business to make $100?
[Edit] I edited out some documents as well as names, I just remembered I signed an NDA with my settlement, so I'd rather not link to the court documents...even if there is 350 other people in it..