I'm an online retailer of football merchandise. I operate the business as a hobby and it is very small scale. I get merchandise from a variety of avenues, depending on whether I can get small orders of items at a reasonable price that I can make a few dollars on.
Yesterday I received an email from Nike claiming that I had been selling fake goods and demanding over $1000 in costs and that I close my website. I responded immediately and informed them that I was unaware that any goods I held were counterfeit (infringing their trademark) and asked to see some evidence. They replied saying that they had a purchased item in their possession (from my store), but still didn't give any other details.
I don't believe that all Nike goods I've ever sold were counterfeit and, although I have a fair idea which supplier it may be (as the supplier sells a lot of Nike goods), I would like to know for sure who it is that may have passed off counterfeit goods to me (and which goods may have been counterfeit). I emailed them back and informed them of this, requesting some details regarding the item they have. These details have still not been provided and instead I was emailed a cease and desist letter by their legal representatives. I have taken all Nike merchandise off my webstore and emailed both Nike and their lawyers stating that I am willing to help them get to the bottom of the matter. I did, however, reiterate that I would at least need to know the product in question in order to nail down where it came from.
Since my last email, Nike has replied giving details of the product in question. I narrowed down the order they were referring to and it turns out that the parcel has not yet arrived. Basically, they have lied to me about having evidence in their possession, while demanding I pay them over $1000. Is this a violation of Section 178BA of the Crimes Act 1900 (demanding money by means of deception)?
Yesterday I received an email from Nike claiming that I had been selling fake goods and demanding over $1000 in costs and that I close my website. I responded immediately and informed them that I was unaware that any goods I held were counterfeit (infringing their trademark) and asked to see some evidence. They replied saying that they had a purchased item in their possession (from my store), but still didn't give any other details.
I don't believe that all Nike goods I've ever sold were counterfeit and, although I have a fair idea which supplier it may be (as the supplier sells a lot of Nike goods), I would like to know for sure who it is that may have passed off counterfeit goods to me (and which goods may have been counterfeit). I emailed them back and informed them of this, requesting some details regarding the item they have. These details have still not been provided and instead I was emailed a cease and desist letter by their legal representatives. I have taken all Nike merchandise off my webstore and emailed both Nike and their lawyers stating that I am willing to help them get to the bottom of the matter. I did, however, reiterate that I would at least need to know the product in question in order to nail down where it came from.
Since my last email, Nike has replied giving details of the product in question. I narrowed down the order they were referring to and it turns out that the parcel has not yet arrived. Basically, they have lied to me about having evidence in their possession, while demanding I pay them over $1000. Is this a violation of Section 178BA of the Crimes Act 1900 (demanding money by means of deception)?