My name is Julia, and I am a single mother of a six-year-old son. I work part-time in animal welfare but have recently found myself in a legal dispute that has brought immense financial challenges.

In 2024, I started a small business on Face Yoga and decided to sell gemstone water bottles that I discovered during a trip to Asia beside this. This was meant to be an additional source of income to support my son and me financially, as well as to help sustain my volunteer work in animal welfare.

My goal with selling the bottles was not only to create a small financial safety net for my son and me but also to fund the care and spaying/neutering of street dogs and cats during my trips to Asia. In the past, I have often treated and cared for injured animals there, and I wanted to secure more financial resources for this important work through these sales.

The only sale that occurred on eBay was a test purchase deliberately conducted by the lawyers representing the company VitaJuwel. This single sale was used as the basis for serving me with a cease-and-desist letter. There were no other sales of the bottles. Altogether, I only had 10 bottles, which I had purchased from an international supplier.

VitaJuwel’s lawyers claimed that the bottles I was offering were protected under their design rights. The bottles I sold were not identical to those of VitaJuwel. They were purchased from a different supplier and are similar to many other bottles being sold on platforms like Amazon, Kaufland, and Media Markt. I was unaware that the design of these bottles might be protected, and as soon as I was informed, I removed all my listings.

From the very beginning, I explained to the lawyers that my business was extremely small in scale. I only had 10 bottles.

The initial cease-and-desist letter not only demanded that I sign an agreement to stop selling but also included a monetary demand exceeding €2,000. Given the small scale of my operation – just 10 bottles and no actual sales – I could not imagine that such a demand would hold up in court. Therefore, I did not sign the cease-and-desist agreement. Instead, I informed the lawyers of the limited scale of my activity, removed the listings, and stated that I would no longer sell the bottles and that many others suppliers also in Germany are selling the same bottles like me. I genuinely believed this would resolve the matter.

Despite this, I was served with an injunction and saddled with high legal fees that I cannot afford as a single mother. The dispute was valued at €50,000, leading to legal fees of over €3,000. On top of that, I have already incurred more than €500 in attorney consultation fees, along with additional court costs (estimated to be around €1,000).

I had made a payment offer to the law firm, taking into account my challenging financial situation as a single mother and the fact that there was not one single sell. Unfortunately, this offer was rejected, and I was instead presented with a significantly higher demand of over €3,000. These are only the fees the lawyers from VitaJuwel are charging. On top will be the court fees and my own attorney costs. This amount is far beyond my means, which is why I am now reaching out to you for help.

I am asking for your support to cover these expenses. Should more money be raised than needed for this case, I will use the excess funds to continue my animal welfare work in Asia.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide!

Legal Notes for Clarification

• This text describes my personal view of the situation and does not constitute a legal opinion.

• My aim is to obtain financial support for my legal and court fees.

A lot of animal suffering in Asia

The father of my son lives in Asia, so we spend one to two months there each year. Many animals on the streets suffer terribly, and most tourists either turn a blind eye to their plight or don’t step in to help. A sympathetic glance doesn’t help a dog with wounds down to the bone.

Over the years, our stays in Asia have become an increasing financial burden. Almost every day, I have purchased medication or taken animals to the vet. Of course, I have also fed them and provided them with water.