When inventors Bonnie Tyler and Sheila Torgan launched The Negg®—a patented hard-boiled egg peeler—they were living the dream many product creators work years toward. Their idea took off. Customers loved it. Sales climbed. And with patents and trademarks in place, they believed their hard work was protected.
Then, almost overnight, everything changed.
“We woke up and our sales were gone”
One Sunday morning, Bonnie and Sheila discovered their product was suddenly being sold online for just $3. At first, it didn’t make sense. When they dug deeper, the reality was worse than they imagined.
Hundreds of sellers were offering counterfeit versions of The Negg® across major online marketplaces.
Many of the listings were using The Negg® name illegally. Worse, the knockoffs were cheaply made and leaked due to a design flaw. Customers didn’t know the difference—and negative reviews started piling up on the real product.
Almost instantly, the damage was done:
- An 80% drop in sales overnight
- Lost visibility on online marketplaces
- Angry, confused customers
- A brand reputation built over several years was fading swiftly
For any inventor, this is the nightmare scenario: watching your own product get undercut, misrepresented, and blamed for problems you didn’t create.
“We just needed a legal expert who knew how to stop this”
Bonnie and Sheila did what most inventors do in a crisis—they started calling law firms. But again and again, they hit dead ends. Some firms didn’t understand online marketplaces. Others talked in circles without offering real solutions.
Eventually, they were referred to Ference Law and their team of online counterfeiting experts.
From the very first conversation, they felt the difference. This wasn’t just about legal theory—it was about protecting a real product, real customers, and a real business with a tailored legal solution for our situation.
A Practical Plan to Take Back Control
Ference Law moved quickly, putting a clear, actionable strategy in place:
- Removing Counterfeits Where the Damage Was Happening
The firm identified the unauthorized sellers and systematically removed counterfeit listings from major online marketplaces—cutting off the problem at its source. - Strengthening the Legal Armor
To make sure this didn’t happen again, Ference Law reinforced The Negg®’s intellectual property protections by:- Strengthening the product patent
- Enhancing U.S. trademark protection
- Securing international trademark registrations
- Ongoing Monitoring—So the Founders Didn’t Have to Police the Internet
Counterfeiters don’t usually give up after one takedown. Ference Law implemented repeatable enforcement and monitoring processes so new infringements could be addressed quickly—without Bonnie and Sheila having to constantly watch over marketplaces themselves.
The Outcome: Relief, Recovery, and Confidence
With the counterfeit listings removed and their IP protections strengthened, The Negg® regained control of its online presence. Customer trust returned. Sales recovered. And perhaps most importantly, the founders no longer felt like they were fighting this battle alone.
Today, Bonnie and Sheila know that if counterfeiters show up again, there’s a plan—and a legal partner—ready to protect what they built.