Case: 1:23-cv-01745 Document #: 1 Filed: 03/21/23 Page 1 of 16 PageID #:1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
____________________________________
)
Albert Koetsier, ) Case No.:23-cv-1745
)
Plaintiff, )
v. ) Judge:
)
Does 1-486, As Identified in Exhibit 2, )
) Magistrate:
Defendants. )
____________________________________)

COMPLAINT

Albert Koetsier (“Plaintiff”), hereby files this Complaint for copyright infringement

against Defendants, on personal knowledge as to Plaintiff’s own activities and on information

and belief as to the activities of others:

THE PARTIES

1. Plaintiff is an individual residing in California.

2. Plaintiff is the creator of various famous artworks and has obtained copyright registration

for his expressive works, here focused on x-ray crystal photography of flowers or other

botanical objects (hereafter “Copyrighted Works”). A true and accurate copy of

Plaintiff’s copyright registrations for Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works is attached as Exhibit

1.

3. The Copyrighted Works is being infringed by a cabal of foreign counterfeiters intent on

exploiting unknowing online consumers. This infringing behavior harms Plaintiff.

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4. Defendants, identified in Exhibit 2, are all believed to be individuals and unincorporated

business associations who, upon information and belief, reside in foreign jurisdictions.

The true names, identities, and addresses of Defendants are currently unknown.

5. Defendants conduct their illegal operations through fully interactive commercial websites

hosted on Amazon.com, and other websites (“Infringing Websites” or “Infringing

Webstores”). Each Defendant targets consumers in the United States, including the State

of Illinois, and has offered to sell and, on information and belief, has sold and continues

to sell counterfeit and/or infringing products that violate Plaintiff’s intellectual property

rights (“Counterfeit Products”) to consumers within the United States, including the State

of Illinois and the Northern District of Illinois. Defendants have the capacity to be sued

pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(b).

6. Through the operation of their Infringing Webstores, Defendants are directly and

personally contributing to, inducing and engaging in the sale of Counterfeit Products as

alleged, often times as partners, co-conspirators, and/or suppliers.

7. Upon information and belief, Defendants are an interrelated group of counterfeiters and

infringers working in active concert to knowingly and willfully manufacture, import,

distribute, offer for sale, and sell Counterfeit Products. Attached as Exhibit 3 is a true and

accurate copy of the suspected manufacturer located in China and offering the infringing

products sold by the Defendants. Attached as Exhibit 4 is a true and accurate copy of a

machine translated copy of Exhibit 3.

8. Defendants intentionally conceal their identities and the full scope of their counterfeiting

operations in an effort to deter Plaintiff from learning Defendants’ true identities and the

exact interworking of Defendants’ illegal counterfeiting and infringing operations. The

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identities of these Defendants are presently unknown. If their identities become known,

Plaintiff will promptly amend this Complaint to identify them.

9. Defendants have created the Defendant Internet Stores, operate under one or more

aliases, and are advertising, offering for sale and selling Counterfeit Products to

unsuspecting consumers. Defendant Internet Stores share unique identifiers, establishing

a logical relationship between them and suggesting that Defendants’ counterfeiting

actions arise out of the same transaction or occurrence, or series of transactions or

occurrences.

10. Defendants are primarily Chinese and all market counterfeit products and/or market their

products that infringe the patent of Plaintiff. On information and belief, all Defendants

source their goods from a common manufacturer or consortium of manufacturers under

the direction or influence of local or national governments.

JOINDER OF DEFENDANTS

11. On information and belief, Defendants are an interrelated group of infringers working in

active concert to knowingly and willfully make, use, offer for sale, sell, and/or import

into the United States for subsequent sale or use infringing products in the same

transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences. Defendants, without any

authorization or license from Plaintiff, have jointly and severally, knowingly and

willfully made, used, offered for sale, sold, and/or imported into the United States for

subsequent resale or use products that infringe directly and/or indirectly Plaintiff’s

Copyrighted Works. Each e-commerce store operating under the aliases by the

Defendants offers shipping to the United States, including Illinois, and, on information
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and belief, each Defendant has sold Counterfeit Products into the United States and

Illinois over the Internet.

12. Upon information and belief, each of the Defendants, are working in active concert with

an unknown manufacturing entity located in China to knowingly and willfully make, use,

offer for sale, sell, and/or import into the United States for subsequent sale or use the

same infringing product.

13. There are questions of fact common to all Defendants. All Defendants are infringing the

Copyrighted Works by making, selling, and/or importing the same infringing product into

the United States. Upon information and belief, the accused products are sourced from

the unknown manufacturing entity acting in concert with each of the Defendants. Each of

the Defendants are selling the same product manufactured by the unknown

manufacturing entity. By selling the same accused product, each of the Defendants are

infringing the claim of the Copyrighted Works in the same way.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

14. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§§ 1331 and 1338 because the claim in this action is brought under the Copyright Act, 17

U.S.C. § 101, et seq. This Court has jurisdiction, pursuant to the principles of

supplemental jurisdiction and 28 U.S.C. § 1367, over Plaintiff’s claims for unlawful and

deceptive acts and practices under the laws of the State of Illinois.

15. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants in that they transact business in the

State of Illinois and in the Northern District of Illinois.

16. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400 in that the

Defendants are entities or individuals subject to personal jurisdiction in this District.

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Venue is also proper in this District because a substantial part of the events or omissions

giving rise to the claims occurred in this District and Defendants directly target business

activities towards consumers in the State of Illinois. Specifically, Defendants have

targeted sales to Illinois residents, offered shipping to the United States, including

Illinois, accepted payment in U.S. dollars and, on information and belief, have sold

products infringing Plaintiff’s patent to residents of Illinois. Each of the Defendants is

committing tortious acts in Illinois, is engaging in interstate commerce, and has

wrongfully caused Plaintiff substantial injury in the State of Illinois.

BACKGROUND FACTS

17. Plaintiff is engaged in the business of creating, licensing, and marketing Plaintiff’s

various creative works throughout the world, including within the Northern District of

Illinois District (collectively, “Plaintiff’s Products). Defendants’ sales of unlicensed

copies of Plaintiff’s Products (“Counterfeit Products”) are in violation of Plaintiff’s

intellectual property rights and are irreparably damaging Plaintiff.

18. Plaintiff is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and to, the Copyrighted Works.

Plaintiff’s registration of the Copyrighted Works is valid, subsisting, and enforceable.

19. Plaintiff’s Product, symbolized by the Copyrighted Works, is a unique and original

design.

20. Plaintiff’s Products have been widely promoted, both in the United States and throughout

the world. The whole of the consuming public recognizes Plaintiff’s Products as

originating with Plaintiff, but also recognizes that Plaintiff’s Products sold in the United

States originate exclusively from Plaintiff.

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21. As of the date of this filing, Plaintiff’s Products are sold throughout the nation including

on third-party platforms.

22. Plaintiff maintains quality control standards for all of Plaintiff’s products, including those

marketed under Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works.

23. Plaintiff’s Products marketed under the Copyrighted Works have generated significant

revenue for Plaintiff. Plaintiff’s Products have become a symbol of excellence, and an

expectation of quality uniquely associated with Plaintiff.

24. The copyright registration for the Copyrighted Works has never been assigned or licensed

to any of the Defendants in this matter.

25. Further, Plaintiff has expended substantial time, money, and other resources developing,

advertising, marketing, and otherwise promoting products marketed under the

Copyrighted Works.

26. Upon information and belief, at all times relevant hereto, Defendants in this action have

had full knowledge of Plaintiff’s ownership of the Copyrighted Works, including his

exclusive right to use and license such intellectual property.

27. Plaintiff has identified products being marketed and sold using images covered by the

Copyrighted Works on the Infringing Webstores and felt the impact of Counterfeit

Products designed to resemble authorized retail Internet stores selling the genuine

Plaintiff’s Product that Defendants had reproduced, displayed, and distributed without

authorization or license from Plaintiff in violation of the Copyrighted Works.

28. Defendants’ use of the Copyrighted Works on or in connection with the advertising,

marketing, distribution, offering for sale, and sale of the Counterfeit Products is likely to
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cause and has caused confusion, mistake, and deception by and among consumers and is

irreparably harming Plaintiff.

29. Defendants have copied, distributed, manufactured, imported, distributed, offered for

sale, and sold Counterfeit Products infringing the Copyrighted Works and continue to do

so.

30. Defendants, without authorization or license from Plaintiff, knowingly and willfully used

and continue to use the Copyrighted Works in connection with the advertisement, offer

for sale, and sale of the Counterfeit Products, through, inter alia, the Internet. The

Counterfeit Products are not genuine products sold by Plaintiff under the Copyrighted

Works. The Plaintiff did not manufacture, inspect, or package the Counterfeit Products

and did not approve the Counterfeit Products for sale or distribution. Each Infringing

Webstore offers shipping to the United States, including Illinois, and, on information and

belief, each Defendant has sold Counterfeit Products into the United States, including

Illinois.

31. Defendants directly steal or copy Plaintiff’s artwork and sell it as mass produced prints.

There is no clearer example of copyright infringement.

32. Defendants go to great lengths to conceal their true identities and often use multiple

fictitious names and addresses to register and operate the Infringing Webstores. Upon

information and belief, Defendants regularly create new Webstores on various platforms

using the identities listed in Exhibit 2 of the Complaint, as well as other unknown

fictitious names and addresses. Such registration patterns are one of many common

tactics used by the Defendants to conceal their identities, the full scope and interworking

of their illegal counterfeiting operations, and to prevent the Infringing Webstores from
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being disabled.

33. Even though Defendants operate under multiple fictitious names, there are numerous

similarities among the Defendant Internet Stores. For example, some of the Defendant

Internet Stores use identical or equivalent language to sell products.

34. In addition, the products for sale in the Defendant Internet Stores infringing the

Copyrighted Works bear similarities and indicia of being related to one another,

suggesting that the unauthorized products were manufactured by and come from a

common source and that, upon information and belief, Defendants are interrelated.

35. The Defendant Internet Stores also include other notable common features, including

common payment methods, lack of contact information, identically or similarly appearing

products, identical or similarly priced items and volume sales discounts, and the use of

the same text and images.

36. Upon information and belief, Defendants will continue to register or acquire listings for

the purpose of infringing the Copyrighted Works to selling products unless preliminarily

and permanently enjoined.

37. Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law.

COUNT ONE
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
(17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.)
38. The Plaintiff repeats and realleges the foregoing allegations above as if fully set forth

herein.

39. Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works constitute creative, original works of authorship, fixed in a

tangible medium of expression, and protectable under U.S. copyright law. See 17 U.S.C.

§ 102.
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40. Plaintiff is the owner of each valid and enforceable copyright registration certificate in

Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 representative of each asserted Copyrighted Work.

41. Defendants do not have any ownership interest in, or license to, Plaintiff’s Copyrighted

Works.

42. Without authorization from Plaintiff, or any right under the law, Defendants have

willfully copied, reproduced, publicly displayed, and distributed, either copies and/or

variations of Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works, in connection with their operation of the

Defendant Internet Stores and the sale of products.

43. Defendants have individually, as well as jointly and severally, infringed and continue to

infringe Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 501(a).

44. Defendants reap the benefits of their unauthorized reproduction, public display, and

distribution, of Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works through their receipt of substantial

revenue, including substantial profit, driven by sales of their products using product

listings that infringe Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works.

45. Defendants have unlawfully appropriated Plaintiff’s protectable expression by taking

material of substance and value and creating product listing materials for their products

that capture the total concept and feel of Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works.

46. The Defendants have willfully and deliberately infringed Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works.

The Defendant’s infringement of Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works is obvious and notorious.

The Defendants have no good faith basis that the images utilized do not infringe

Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works. Defendants’ infringement has been willful, intentional,

malicious, and purposeful, and in disregard of, and with indifference to, Plaintiff’s rights.

47. Defendants, by their actions, have caused financial injury to Plaintiff in an amount to be
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determined at trial.

48. Defendants’ conduct is causing, and unless enjoined and restrained by this Court will

continue to cause, Plaintiff irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated for or

measured monetarily. Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law for such injury.

49. In light of the foregoing, Plaintiff seeks: (i) temporary, preliminary, and permanent

injunctive relief prohibiting further infringement of Plaintiff’s copyright by Defendants

pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 502; and (ii) monetary relief in the form of statutory damages,

attorneys’ fees, and costs.

COUNT TWO
UNFAIR COMPETITION
(Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125)
50. The Plaintiff repeats and realleges the foregoing allegations above as if fully set forth

herein.

51. All Defendants misrepresented and failed to disclose material facts related to Plaintiff’s

Copyrighted Works including, but not limited to:

a. That their offerings were unauthorized reproductions;

b. Their lack of relationship and unaffiliation with Plaintiff, the official creator of

Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works;

c. The counterfeit nature of the Defendants’ products offered.

52. By manufacturing, importing, exporting, advertising, marketing, promoting, distributing,

displaying, offering for sale, selling, and/or otherwise dealing in the Counterfeit Products,

Defendants have actually offered and did ship goods in interstate commerce.

53. Likewise, by manufacturing, importing, exporting, advertising, marketing, promoting,

distributing, displaying, offering for sale, selling, and/or otherwise dealing in the
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Counterfeit Products, Defendants have traded off the extensive goodwill of Plaintiff and

Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works to induce, and did induce and intends and will continue to

induce, customers to purchase their Counterfeit Products, thereby directly competing with

Plaintiff. Such conduct has permitted and will continue to permit Defendants to make

substantial sales and profits based on the goodwill and reputation of Plaintiff, which

Plaintiff has amassed through nationwide marketing, advertising, sales, and cumulative

consumer recognition.

54. Defendants’ advertising, marketing, promotion, distribution, display, offering for sale,

sale, and/or otherwise dealing in the Counterfeit Products was and is in violation and

derogation of Plaintiff’s rights and is likely to cause confusion and mistake, and to

deceive consumers and the public as to the source, origin, sponsorship, or quality of

Defendants’ Counterfeit Products.

55. Defendants knew, or by the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that their

advertising, marketing, promotion, distribution, display, offering for sale, sale, and/or

otherwise dealing in the Counterfeit Products and their continuing advertising, marketing,

promotion, distribution, display, offering for sale, sale, and/or otherwise dealing in the

Counterfeit Products would cause confusion and mistake, or deceive purchasers, users

and the public.

56. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ aforementioned wrongful actions,

Plaintiff has been and will continue to be deprived of substantial sales of his products

marketed under Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works, as well as other similar products.

57. The Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law and, if the Defendants’ activities are not

enjoined, Plaintiffs will continue to suffer irreparable harm and injury to his goodwill and
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reputation.

58. As a result of Defendants’ actions alleged herein, Plaintiff is entitled to injunctive relief,

an order granting Plaintiff’s damages and Defendants’ profits stemming from their

infringing activities, and exemplary or punitive damages for Defendants’ intentional

misconduct in amounts to be determined at trial.

COUNT THREE
ILLINOIS UNIFORM DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES
(815 ILCS 510)
59. The Plaintiff repeats and realleges the foregoing allegations above as if fully set forth

herein.

60. The Counterfeit Products sold and offered for sale by Defendants are of the same nature

and type as the Plaintiff’s products sold and offered for sale by the Plaintiff and, as such,

Defendants’ use is likely to cause confusion to the general purchasing public.

61. By misappropriating and using the Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works, Defendants

misrepresent and falsely describe to the general public the origin and source of the

Counterfeit Products and create a likelihood of confusion by consumers as to the source

of such merchandise.

62. Defendants’ unlawful, unauthorized and unlicensed manufacture, distribution, offer for

sale and/or sale of the Counterfeit Products creates express and implied

misrepresentations that the Counterfeit Products were created, authorized or approved by

the Plaintiff, all to the Defendants’ profit and to the Plaintiff’s great damage and injury.

63. Defendants’ aforesaid acts are in violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade

Practices Act, 815 ILCS 510/2 et seq., in that Defendants’ use of the Plaintiff’s

Copyrighted Works in connection with their goods and services in interstate commerce,
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constitutes a false designation of origin and unfair competition.

64. Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law and, if the Defendants’ activities are not

enjoined, the Plaintiff will continue to suffer irreparable harm and injury to its goodwill

and reputation.

65. As a result of Defendants’ actions alleged herein, Plaintiff is entitled to injunctive relief,

an order granting Plaintiff’s damages and Defendants’ profits stemming from its

infringing activities, and exemplary or punitive damages for Defendants’ intentional

misconduct in amounts to be determined at trial.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendants in favor of the Plaintiff on

all counts as follows:

1. A judgment against Defendants as to infringement of the Copyrighted Works;

2. That Defendants, their affiliates, officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys,

confederates, and all persons acting for, with, by, through, under or in active concert with

them be temporarily, preliminarily, and permanently enjoined and restrained from

reproducing, publicly displaying, and distributing, Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works and all

colorable imitations thereof, and in assisting third-parties in such activity, pursuant to 17

U.S.C. § 502;

3. That Defendants destroy all copies of Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works and Counterfeit

Products and all colorable imitations thereof made by, or made under the control of,

Defendants;

4. That Plaintiff be awarded statutory damages based on Defendants’ willful copyright

infringement, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2), in an amount of $150,000 per infringed

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work;

5. That Plaintiff be awarded its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §

505;

6. Preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining Defendants and their officers, directors,

agents, servants, affiliates, employees, subsidiaries, parents, licensees, assigns, and

customers, and all others acting in concert or participation with them, from further acts of

infringing, inducing infringement, and/or contributing to the infringement of Copyrighted

Works, or selling Counterfeit Products including:

a. shipping, delivering, holding for sale, distributing, returning, transferring or

otherwise moving, storing or disposing of in any manner products or inventory

not manufactured by or for Plaintiff, nor authorized by Plaintiff to be sold or

offered for sale, in connection with the Copyrighted Works or any reproductions,

counterfeit copies, or colorable imitations thereof;

b. using, linking to, transferring, selling, exercising control over, or otherwise

owning or operating the Infringing Webstores, listings, or any other domain name

that is being used to sell or is the means by which Defendants could continue to

sell Counterfeit Products;

c. operating and/or hosting websites at the Infringing Webstores and any other

domain names registered or operated by Defendants that are involved with the

distribution, marketing, advertising, offering for sale, or sale of any product

marketed with the Copyrighted Works or any reproduction, counterfeit copy or

colorable imitation thereof that is not a genuine product or not authorized by

Plaintiff to be sold;
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d. possessing any product or any reproduction, counterfeit copy or colorable

imitation thereof that is not a genuine product or not authorized by Plaintiff to be

sold in connection with the Copyrighted Works. As part of compliance with this

provision, we ask that Defendants or those who possess Defendants’ infringing

goods, segregate and destroy infringing goods;

e. competing unfairly with Plaintiff in any manner;

f. passing off, inducing or enabling others to sell or pass off any Counterfeit

Products as genuine products made and/or sold by the Plaintiff;

g. committing any acts calculated to cause consumers to believe that Defendants’

Counterfeit Products are those sold under the authorization, control, or

supervision of Plaintiff, or are sponsored by, approved by, or otherwise connected

with Plaintiff; and

h. using the Plaintiff’s Copyrighted Works or any reproduction, counterfeit, copy or

colorable imitation of the Plaintiff’s Product in connection with the distribution,

advertising, offer for sale and/or sale of merchandise not the genuine products of

the Plaintiff; and

7. That Defendants account for and pay over to Plaintiff any and all profits realized by

Defendants by reason of Defendants’ unlawful acts herein alleged;

8. An award of pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on the damages caused by

Defendants’ infringing activities and other conduct complained of herein;

9. An award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in connection with this action;

10. That Defendants, within ten days after service of judgment with notice of entry thereof

upon them, be required to file with the Court and serve upon the Plaintiff’s a written
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report under oath setting forth in detail the manner in which Defendants have complied

with any and all injunctive relief ordered by this Court;

11. Entry of an order that, upon Plaintiff’s request, those in privity with Defendants and those

with notice of the injunction, including any Internet search engines, Webstore hosts or

their administrators that are provided with notice of the injunction, cease facilitating

access to any or all webstores through which Defendants engage in the sale of Counterfeit

Products in connection with the Copyrighted Works; and

12. Grant Plaintiff such other and further legal relief as may be just and proper.

Dated: March 21 2023 Respectfully Submitted,

By: /s/ Rishi Nair

Rishi Nair
IARDC # 6305871
Keener & Associates, P.C.
161 N. Clark Street, Suite #1600
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 375-1573
rishi.nair@keenerlegal.com