Iron Maiden settles with e-commerce site wrongly sued for IP infringement
Iron Maiden has settled with e-commerce platform Viral Style over claims that the rock band misappropriated $200,000, after the Florida-based company was erroneously implicated in a mass IP suit.
The settlement was confirmed at the US District Court for the District of Florida on Friday August 20.
Last year, Chicago law firm AMS Law sued a plethora of companies on behalf of Iron Maiden alleging an “international conspiracy” to infringe Iron Maiden’s IP at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
But after Viral Style countered that it was not actively involved in the production or distribution of any allegedly infringing merchandise, the law firm later conceded that it had mistakenly added the US retailer to the lawsuit and agreed to remove the site from the complaint.
But before being removed from the British band’s lawsuits, the rock band won a default judgement against the e-commerce outfit’s two clients, Beatee and 89artshirt in September 2020.
Shortly afterwards, Iron Maiden and its lawyers at AMS Law allegedly “misappropriated $200,000,00 from Viral Style’s PayPal account” based on their belief that Viral Style shared a PayPal account with the two clients that were found liable for IP infringement.
In February 2021, e-commerce platform Viral Style accused the metal band of stealing $200,000 from its PayPal account without authorisation in an act “akin to a high-tech and sophisticated bank robbery” at a federal court in Florida.
Viral Style argued in its filing that it had been wrongly named as a defendant in the Illinois lawsuit and that it always took numerous measures to prevent IP infringement on its website.
The retailer acknowledged that while Beattee and 89Artshirt are users of Viral Style’s website, it strenuously denied that it shared a PayPal account with the companies.
The filing stated: “Viral Style is not a copyright infringer. Just like Amazon, eBay, and Facebook, Viral Style is protected from allegations of copyright infringement by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbour for online service provider ecommerce platforms and/or marketplaces.”
It further held that Iron Maiden and AMS Law knew Viral Style was a legitimate standalone company, and that it was not a “cog in the wheel of an international conspiracy” to create counterfeit products.
The rock band countered by holding that the retailer’s complaint was “riddled with inconsistencies” and also held that the courts in Florida “do not have jurisdiction” over the dispute.
In June, Viral Style’s action was referred to mediation and the parties were ordered to conduct mediation on or before August 25, 2021. But last week, District Judge Amanda Sansone confirmed that the e-commerce site had settled with the band and the law firm.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
Ferrero Rocher’s marks were infringed, says Chinese court
Disney, Amazon, Netflix win injunction against pirate TV operator
