Overview
- NASCAR filed a federal trademark suit in Charlotte on Monday that accuses an undisclosed number of online sellers of offering unauthorized or counterfeit NASCAR-branded merchandise.
- The complaint invokes the Lanham Act and portrays the defendants as a coordinated counterfeiting network that uses fake storefronts, multiple aliases, blurred trademarks in product photos and offshore accounts to hide profits.
- Defendant names were placed on a sealed “Schedule A,” and an exhibit with example products was removed from the public docket, leaving the targets anonymous while the case proceeds under Judge Kenneth Bell.
- NASCAR is seeking broad injunctive relief beyond money damages, including orders to deactivate marketplace accounts, stop advertisements, block search links to the stores and subpoena platforms and payment processors to identify operators and freeze funds.
- The approach follows an earlier Schedule A action by NASCAR that won a preliminary injunction in New York this month, and a successful outcome here could cut counterfeit visibility and protect licensing revenue while enforcement may remain hard if funds sit offshore.