If you are selling products on an online marketplace you may have experienced baseless IP infringement notices.

They are designed to disrupt, can cost you time and money, and even lead to your trading accounts being suspended. 

But good news - there is some recent case law that might help you in the fight against these notices.

If the notice relates to registered rights, the law of unjust threats provides a good level of protection including remedies such as damages and injunctive relief.

But trolls know this and are increasingly targeting unregistered rights, like copyright, where the same protections are not readily available.

Recent cases have shown you can still fight back. In one case involving copyright infringement notices submitted to YouTube, the High Court issued an injunction restraining the defendant from issuing further complaints or encouraging others to do so. The Court concluded that the infringement notices were submitted maliciously and that the defendant had "pursued a relentless and fraudulent campaign aimed at damaging the economic interests" of the claimant. The same principles could apply to other online forums and could well be used in relation to online marketplaces.