Thanks to Buckworks over at AffiliateBoards for alerting me to this problem. Piss me off! This company and their attorney are purposely targeting only small, home-based CafePress Affiliates and Marketers in this lawsuit because they know they can’t afford to fight back. Many of the people sued have never even made a dime selling these products. Suit not sweet - PittsburghLIVE News

“Melanie Drake designed all of the items on her “Baby Bliss” page at the Internet marketplace Web site CafePress.com. Like many fellow sellers on the site, the part-time software developer from Ross, who is staying at home with her young son, just wanted to make a few extra bucks. But the $27 she earned from her designs is not going to cover an unexpected legal bill. A Florida clothing designer called Sweet Pea Limited is suing Drake and 51 other people for trademark infringement, claiming that only it can market apparel bearing the words “sweet pea.”

A site called SourPeas has been started by some of the defendants to help spread the word about this frivolous suit.

“Armed with the results of a simple Google search, a Miami attorney has launched a $16 million lawsuit against 52 of the tiniest businesses on the Internet. The attorney’s tools: an intimidating two-inch thick lawsuit, a short timeline to respond in a distant forum, and a threat of a multi-million dollar judgment. The attorney’s techniques: pick only the smallest defendants who can’t afford to litigate a highly questionable lawsuit. The attorney’s goal: to obtain a $5,000 contingency payoff from each defendant and collect $260,000. “