China's cross-border e-commerce encounters the PayPal injury account is facing zero

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, as of 2013, there were more than 5,000 cross-border e-commerce platform companies in China, and more than 200,000 cross-border e-commerce companies have been launched through various platforms. The international third-party payment business has also developed rapidly. However, in recent days, the international third-party payment platform PayPal has been released and a large number of Chinese merchant accounts have been frozen and cleared.
The Beijing News reporter recently found that buyers from the United States chatted with Chinese merchants on high-priced counterfeit goods to obtain their PayPal accounts, and then the relevant brands filed lawsuits in the United States with chat records. Due to the high cost of filing a lawsuit in the United States, most merchants did not choose to respond actively, but with it, their PayPal accounts and funds were frozen or even cleared.

PayPal responded to an interview with the Beijing News reporter. The merchant account was frozen and cleared to implement the local court's instructions. Merchants are advised to deal with it through legal channels. Professionals have warned that Chinese merchants should circumvent the legal risks in the course of business when registering to use the international cross-border e-commerce platform, and should actively respond to complaints after encountering international litigation.

Since December 9 last year, Mr. Yang, who is engaged in foreign trade business, has a frozen PayPal account of RMB 650,000.

The 650,000 yuan was the property that Mr. Yang had worked hard for five years. He was originally prepared to use the money as the down payment for his own purchase. But now, when the money can be retrieved and retrieved is still unknown.

Mr. Yang is just one of many cross-border e-commerce companies in China that have been damaged by the freezing of the PayPal account.

"134 people, $17,945,11, equivalent to about 11,149,656 yuan." On January 20 this year, the head of a PayPal account rights QQ group counted the funds in the group members and their frozen PayPal accounts. At the same time, a large number of frozen PayPal accounts are still active in social forums such as Internet Forum, QQ, WeChat, etc., and the number of rights defended in individual groups is as high as 1400.

Freezing suddenly

Brand counterfeiting until a large number of PayPal accounts are frozen, merchants are sued

Mr. Yang said that in order to facilitate international transactions, he deposited all of his five-year income of $650,000 into his PayPal account. On November 16 last year, an American buyer contacted Mr. Yang, the younger brother of the foreign trade business, and said that he had seen a men's glove. "The buyer said that he had a large purchase volume and asked for a PayPal account payment. My brother did not have a PayPal account and I lent his PayPal account to him."

According to Mr. Yang, on the morning of December 10 last year, he logged into his PayPal account as usual to check the transaction details, but found that it could not be operated. Subsequently, he was informed by PayPal's customer service that PayPal had frozen his account due to a US court subpoena. His PayPal email notification showed that PayPal received a court order from the US state of Illinois on December 2, stating that he might have infringed on the intellectual property of a US brand and that the account would have to be restricted.

In the early morning of the 11th of the same month, Mr. Yang received an electronic lawyer's letter from the US GBC (Greer Burns & Crain) law firm, which claimed that he had filed a lawsuit against him. "The picture of the glove was downloaded from the Internet and there was a circular pattern on it, which meant that the pattern caused trouble."

Mr. Yang said that the US buyers did not pay and the two parties did not form a transaction. He had contacted PayPal for several times to unfreeze the account, but the other party continued to freeze his account on the grounds that "PayPal is a third party and can only execute court orders." .

Mr. Yang’s account was frozen because of alleged infringement. Mr. Zheng, who is engaged in the foreign trade of motorcycle parts, claimed to be “lying in the middle of the gun”. In December last year, he received a frozen email on his PayPal account for allegedly infringing an international eyewear brand, and was sued by the US GBC law firm commissioned by the brand. "I did motorcycle accessories. I didn't sell glasses at all in the store. Why did someone tell me to sell glasses for infringement?" Mr. Zheng said that he had tried to contact PayPal's official thaw account but failed.

Responding to difficulties

Merchants should not complain that accounts will be cleared, and transnational litigation costs are high

Through the QQ group, WeChat, and the forum, Mr. Yang got to know a lot of merchants who had the same experience as him, and some of the accounts have been cleared. “After being cleared, the probability of money being recovered is almost zero.” Mr. Yang said that if the choice is not to sue, the merchant will lose the law according to the US law, and the PayPal account will be cleared. Therefore, for merchants whose accounts have been frozen and not cleared, responding is the only way to remedy, but this road is not good.

"First, a lawyer at a foreign trade forum, after receiving my 5,000 yuan, did not prepare for the complaint, but let me continue to pay." Mr. Yang, who chose to respond, said that he subsequently went to a law firm in California. After paying $1,000, the law firm also "doesn't do anything with money." Finally, he found a Chinese lawyer in Chicago through a friend's introduction, and it has taken him nearly a month to find a lawyer. “The lawyer told me that if there is no lawsuit within a certain period of time, the plaintiff will apply to the court for trial in absentia. If it is convicted and the judgment is effective, PayPal will execute the court order to transfer the funds in the account to the plaintiff brand. Money in your PayPal account may be cleared."

On January 7, the day before GBC Law Firm applied to the Illinois court for a trial in absentia, Mr. Yang and the American lawyer signed an entrustment agreement to start a lawsuit. Mr. Yang said that the cost of asking his lawyer has reached more than 30,000 yuan so far. That is to say, the lawsuit can be won, and the high cost of litigation also makes it difficult for small businesses like him.

Similarly, Mr. Zheng found a Chinese lawyer in the United States through the Internet at the end of last year. After delivering a deposit of US$10,000, he gave the case to the lawyer. Mr. Zheng said that after the lawyers communicated, he quickly reached an out-of-court settlement with the brand, and the lawyers of GBC Law Firm also revoked the lawsuit. On January 12 this year, his PayPal account was thawed, but this resulted in a lawyer's fee of up to 9,000 US dollars (about RMB 55,800).

"This kind of lawsuit must be filed by a US lawyer. The lawyer's fee is very expensive." Mr. Wang, a $18,000 frozen merchant in the PayPal account, said that American lawyers are charged on an hourly basis, many of which are $400-500 an hour. It is not impossible to go to court in three or two days. It is not impossible for three months or six months. It will be a sky-high security fee.

Mr. Wei, the merchant, did not have the good fortune of Mr. Zheng. His paypal account was frozen in the middle of last year and failed to respond in time. On January 20 this year, he found that the balance in his account had become zero, and the flow of funds showed that all the money was transferred to paypal.

“What is the right of paypal to collect this money?” Mr. Wei once negotiated with the other party and has not received a reply.

Merchants encounter similarities

A large number of merchants received a letter from the same law firm in the United States, claiming a maximum of $2 million

The merchants whose PayPal accounts were frozen communicated with each other and found that they were divided into three categories: they were selling branded counterfeit goods, lending their PayPal accounts to others, and merchants who were sued for no reason. But the paradox is that no matter which category they are, the situation they encounter is very similar.

“We are all buyers from the United States on Alibao [Weibo] AliExpress or ebay [microblogging] shopping platform, these buyers are registered in Illinois.” Mr. Yang said that the buyer first Ask if there is a brand of merchandise, if the merchant does not sell the brand, the buyer will take the initiative to provide the brand's picture, let the merchant find the goods. "He will say that he has a large amount of purchases and hopes to cooperate for a long time. The price given is also very attractive." After the parties have reached a trading intention, the buyer will propose to pay through PayPal and ask the merchant to provide a PayPal account.

Since then, the merchants have encountered the same situation: the PayPal account is not available, PayPal sent an email to inform the court of the subpoena to freeze the account, and received a letter from the lawyer of GBC.

The reporter compared the lawyers' letters provided by the merchants and found that in the case of different cases, the electronic lawyer's letter issued by GBC Law Firm is also similar in the content of the sentence. The amount of the claim is the maximum compensation limit of 200 infringement cases in the United States. Ten thousand U.S. dollars.

In July last year, some merchants gathered at PayPal's office in Shanghai, China, but PayPal refused to respond to the company's services without legal issues. PayPal recently responded to the Beijing News reporter, and the company will spare no effort in cracking down on illegal activities using the PayPal secure payment platform. A large number of merchants have been subject to US brand litigation. PayPal said that if the merchant believes that his account or website is not suspected of selling the infringing goods of the brand, he should promptly notify the brand lawyers so that the brand can further investigate.

In addition, after the account of the merchant is cleared, the funds are transferred to the paypal company. Paypal said that PayPal, as a third party, must receive a temporary restraining order from the court and must freeze the corresponding account according to the court's request. If the court verdict is received, the compensation will be deducted according to the requirements, and The court requested that the designated account be remitted. “If you have any questions, you can refer to the court enforcement order or consult our customer service staff.”

Subject to strict laws in the United States

US law stipulates that you can file a lawsuit with a web-based chat

According to industry insiders, PayPal has been fighting against the sale of counterfeit imitation products for a long time. Earlier, it involved infringements, most of which were directly reported to the PayPal by the brand, or PayPal found the results on its own. Under normal circumstances, it can be unsealed after freezing for half a year (180 days). However, this time the brand is directly authorized by the law firm to handle the case and submit the so-called “evidence” to the relevant court.

Zhao Zhan, a special researcher at the China University of Political Science and Law's Intellectual Property Center and an Internet lawyer, believes that China and the United States have great differences in intellectual property protection laws and public infringement awareness. American brands are using the harsh laws and payment platforms of the United States without warning. , conducting "unconventional prosecution."

"The United States is very detailed on the protection of intellectual property rights, and the penalties for violations of intellectual property rights are also very strict." Zhao Occupation said that some local laws in the United States also reduced the difficulty of obtaining evidence for brand owners. The current US Trademark Law is the Lanham Act, enacted in 1948. This law strictly defines trademark infringement and provides for the reproduction, forgery, imitation or deceptive imitation of a registered trademark for the sale of any goods or services. Promising sales, distribution or advertising may cause confusion, misunderstanding or deception, and shall be liable in the civil litigation of the trademark registrant. “Obviously, Chinese merchants who have had direct communication and bargaining behavior with counterfeit brands in the United States have formed the fact of promised sales and may be liable under US law”.

In addition, at the end of the last century, with the rise of the US Internet electronic commerce, the United States amended the Trademark Law to form the Anti-Domains Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, which provides for the infringement of domain name registrants and the courts in conveying relevant cases. After issuing an electronic subpoena to the postal and e-mail address provided by the registrant to the registrar, the court has deemed that the court notice has been filed in a timely manner.

According to Zhao Occupation, the above bills apply not only to Americans, but also to other people outside the United States. Therefore, after some means are used to determine that Chinese merchants are suspected of infringement, they can file a lawsuit in the US local court based on the chat records in their hands. The local court passed the Chinese merchant registration email provided by the PayPal party to convey the electronic subpoena.

In addition, some places in the United States are more rigorous in cracking down on IPR violations. Among them, Illinois has introduced local regulations that stipulate that anyone who does not need financial losses, profits or intention to defraud the evidence of the loss can The reporting and prosecution of intellectual property rights is the reason why all Chinese merchants receive court summonses from Illinois.

â–  Suggestions

Merchants "carrying groups" can reduce litigation costs

Lawyers said that merchants can take the initiative to obtain a lawsuit through proof, PayPal should help respond to the lawsuit

Liu Yinliang, a professor at Peking University Law School, believes that even if the brand actively asks the merchant to provide the “fishing” behavior of the counterfeit goods to defend the rights, this is allowed at home and abroad. The merchants are not tried in time to be tried in absentia. It is also normal to judge the lawsuit.

Liu Yinliang said that most merchants' encounters are likely to constitute "infringement of sales" of patented products, which constitutes infringement of brand design patents or trademark rights. What they need to do is to respond positively. They only need to find a way to prove that they have not sold the goods, or that the goods they sell are of formal origin, and they can take the initiative in the lawsuit.

Zhao Occupation also said that merchants should choose to respond actively, and they can also use the "holding group" contract lawyers to reduce litigation costs. If the alleged trademark is infringed, the merchant may provide relevant evidence to the court to prove that it has a legitimate source of purchase, and the product is not a fake. He also believes that PayPal is an international third-party payment platform, and the operating procedures are usually implemented in accordance with the laws of the host country. However, if the user is subject to litigation, PayPal should actively help the merchant to respond, and at the same time make certain compensation for the loss of the merchant.

“The awareness of intellectual property protection by domestic SME merchants is still very weak, especially foreign trade enterprises, which should raise awareness of intellectual property protection, and learn relevant foreign laws, and learn to use laws to protect their rights while ensuring that they are not illegal.” Zhao The occupation reminds that cross-border e-commerce business is carried out through the Internet, and the Internet has the characteristics of borderlessness and trans-regionality. This makes it difficult to defend rights due to disputes arising from cross-border e-commerce. Therefore, domestic merchants must ensure the operation process. Comply with the laws and regulations of relevant countries and minimize the occurrence of disputes.

â–  Explanation of terms

PayPal

The international third-party payment platform, established in 1998, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US eBay company. PayPal allows funds to be transferred between users who use email to identify themselves, and works with a large number of e-commerce sites to become one of their payment methods.

On April 27, 2010, PayPal announced a partnership with Alibaba to become a fast and secure payment method for Alibaba's AliExpress merchants, but the two parties terminated their cooperation on August 3, 2011. Currently, paypal is still the most widely used online tool for cross-border transactions, with more than 157 million active users worldwide, supporting 25 currency payment transactions.

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