Intrebare legata de trademark infringement in cazul unui website

Buna ziua,

Am o intrebare ceva mai complexa legata de posibile procese de trademark infringement in cazul unui website hostat pe server din SUA.

O scura prezentare generala:
Detin mai multe site-uri cu recenzii pentru diverse suplimente nutritive (vitamine, amino-acizi, produse naturiste, etc). Nu vand in mod direct nici unul dintre produse, singura modalitate de monetarizare este prin programe de afiliat, majoritatea acestora fiind la Amazon.com (SUA). Site-urile nu promoveaza anumite produse in detrimentul altora si nu folosim reclama platita (Google sau alte platforme) pentru a vinde/recomanda alte produse in detrimentul altora.

Deoarece folosim sistemul de afiliati de la Amazon.com, conform termenilor si conditiilor existente pe aceasta platforma, avem dreptul sa folosim datele oricarui produs existent pe Amazon.com (nume, companie producatoare, imagine, ingrediente, posibile efecte secundare, pret, etc). Atat afiliatii Amazon.com (cazul nostru), cat si vanzatorii de pe Amazon.com (cazul companiilor producatoare) trebuie sa accepte si sa semneze acel contract.

Site-urile sunt in concordanta cu legislatia SUA pentru ca atat programele de afiliat cat si serverele tin de aceasta tara. Putinele probleme pe care le-am avut in trecut au tinut in special de trademark infringements, companiile care nu doreau ca produsele lor sa fie prezentate pe site-uri au invocat un potential trademark infringement. Rezolvarea simpla a acestor cazuri a fost prin stergerea produsului respectiv de pe site.

As vrea insa sa pun aceste site-uri si in concordanta cu legislatia EU si legislatia RO, astfel incat companiile din SUA sa nu aiba nici o portita prin care sa poata ataca site-urile folosindu-se de faptul ca eu (proprietarul) sunt cetatean roman iar site-urile mele nu sunt 100% in concordanta cu legislatia RO.

Intrebarile mele sunt urmatoarele:
1) Exista diferente fundamentale intre legislatia SUA si legislatia EU de care ar trebui sa tin cont? Daca da, ce modificari ar fi necesare in termenii si conditiile site-urilor astfel incat sa putem fi 100% acoperiti in cazul unor posibile procese?
2) Este posibil pentru o companie din SUA sa atace un site folosindu-se de faptul ca proprietarul site-ului este cetatean european sau cetatean roman, desi site-ul in discutie este practic "localizat" pe teritoriul SUA?
3) In cazul unui posibil proces (in situatia in care compania doreste sa obtina mai mult decat simpla stergere a produsului de pe site), care ar fi pasii pentru o aparare solida?

Din pacate nu pot atasa documente (sau nu am gasit eu cum sa atasez documente) insa aici aveti un exemplu de DMCA claim pe care l-am primit anul trecut:

"Message Body:
Hello,

To whom it may concern
We the undersigned, owner(s) of the trademark Provasil™, with the assigned serial #: 86480689 hereby authorize Suevio LLC. to act on our company's behalf regarding the protection and management of our Intellectual Property (IP) that has been assigned to our company by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This includes, but is not limited to: Suevio LLC submitting and signing documents on our behalf in an effort to carry out their enforcement duties against those who are unlawfully using our trademark. Any acts carried out by Suevio LLC. on our behalf shall have the same effect as acts of our own.

It has recently come to our attention that *******.com is using the Provasil™ mark for purposes of marketing your company’s products and directing internet users to your company’s website. Your company’s unauthorized commercial use of our mark may create a likelihood of confusion among consumers as to the source or affiliation of your products, on the one hand, and MEDMARK LLC Products, on the other. Consumers may perceive an affiliation between your company and MEDMARK LLC Products, though none exists, thereby possibly threatening MEDMARK LLC Products ability to protect its trademark rights in the future. We demand that you cease and desist from this illegal activity immediately and withdraw all MEDMARK LLC intellectual property from your websites.

We trust that ********.com, like MEDMARK LLC Products, wishes to avoid any consumer confusion or unnecessary legal disputes. Accordingly, we request that you provide us with binding written assurances that you will immediately cease and desist from all unauthorized use of the Provasil™ mark, including the use of Provasil™ and/or Provasil™ as a keyword for internet advertising. We look forward to hearing from you in this regard within the next Seven (7) days, and to reaching a prompt resolution of this matter.

Furthermore, the owner or operator of ******.com website is in violation of multiple international criminal laws as well as civil laws regarding trademark infringement, counterfeiting, and unfair competition. Owners have a good-faith belief that the above-identified use of their trademarks has not been authorized by any of the Owners, their agents, or the law.

My clients have authorized me to file a Complaint against ******.com for, at a minimum, (i) Trade Dress Infringement; (ii) Unfair Competition; (iii) False and Misleading Advertising; (iv) Tortuous Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage; (v) Unfair Competition; and (vi) Trade Libel. This request is made without waiver of any of Owners' rights or remedies, all of which are expressly reserved.

Our actions constitute Trademark infringement in violation of United States copyright laws. If you continue to engage in Trademark infringement after receiving this letter, your actions will be evidence of “willful infringement.”

We demand that you immediately

(A) Cease and desist your unlawful copying of
[ link extern ] /
(B) Provide us with prompt written assurance within seven (7) days that you will cease and desist from further infringement of Provasil.com copyrighted works.

This letter is official notification under Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), and I seek the removal of the aforementioned infringing material from your servers. I request that you immediately notify the infringe of this notice and inform them of their duty to remove the infringing material immediately, and notify them to cease any further posting of infringing material to your server in the future.

Please also be advised that law requires you, as a service provider, to remove or disable access to the infringing materials upon receiving this notice. Under US law a service provider, such as yourself, enjoys immunity from a copyright lawsuit provided that you act with deliberate speed to investigate and rectify ongoing copyright infringement. If service providers do not investigate and remove or disable the infringing material this immunity is lost. Therefore, in order for you to remain immune from a copyright infringement action you will need to investigate and ultimately remove or otherwise disable the infringing material from your servers with all due speed should the direct infringe, your client, not comply immediately.
I am providing this notice in good faith and with the reasonable belief that, rights my company owns are being infringed. Under penalty of perjury I certify that the information contained in the notification is both true and accurate, and I have the authority to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright(s)"


Acest DMCA claim a fost usor de combatut, nu a fost nevoie sa stergem produsul de pe site, insa exista cazuri in care este mult mai dificil.

Va multumesc,
RazvanR