Brands Flock to Chicago Court in War on Internet Counterfeiters

Harry Styles, the NBA, and other big-name brands have filed thousands of lawsuits over the past decade in a Chicago-based federal court to stop alleged online counterfeiters, using a strategy that’s now drawing more scrutiny from judges and academics.

The strategy involves filing intellectual property complaints against a group of online merchants—sometimes hundreds at a time—under a single docket using what’s known as a “Schedule A” filing.

Some say the practice is necessary to combat a spike in counterfeit merchandise flowing into the country. One Library of Congress report estimated illegal domestic and international sales of counterfeits at $1.7 trillion ...