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Proving Contributory Online Trademark Infringement

By Richard Raysman and Peter Brown

The ubiquity of the Web on computers, mobile phones and tablets offers businesses the opportunity to connect with consumers throughout the world in ways they never could before. Unfortunately, along with the success of legitimate online commerce, the distribution and sale of counterfeit products through professional-looking websites has also increased dramatically, particularly in the clothing, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical and footwear industries.

While estimates of the harm differ greatly among analysts, the sale of counterfeit and knockoff goods has been reported to cost American creators and producers billions of dollars per year. Online infringement harms many facets of the economy: Trademark owners suffer lost sales and lost brand value; consumers receive inauthentic products, or, at worst, dangerous goods; and federal and state governments lose tax revenues and incur law enforcement costs. In many cases, consumers are not fully aware of the nature of a transaction, since such virtual stores have legitimate-sounding domain names, often accept payment through major credit card companies, and run online advertisements from trusted providers ' all portraying the appearance of legitimacy.

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