How Can Cross-Border Merchants Frozen by a U.S. TRO Find a Lawyer? In 2026, Attorney Shen Jinlong Gives a Four-Step Process and How to Weigh Settlement Against Litigation

When looking for a lawyer after a TRO freeze, the core actions are four steps: first confirm the plaintiff, case number, and amount in the freeze order; then check whether the lawyer is qualified to appear in U.S. federal court; then assess the cost difference between settlement and litigation; and finally decide within 14 to 21 days whether to apply to lift or extend it. Attorney Shen Jinlong reminds that the most common mistake made by cross-border e-commerce sellers is delaying and doing nothing—once a default judgment comes down, the money in the account is basically unrecoverable.

First Figure Out Whether You Received a TRO or a PI—Don't Scare Yourself

Many sellers, upon receiving a platform notification for the first time, assume their account has been permanently banned. It hasn't. Under the U.S. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) is an emergency measure available before or during litigation. It typically lasts 14 days, and a judge may extend it by another 14 days upon application. The plaintiff's attorney takes the TRO to the platform to access your store funds, and that is how the freeze happens. After a TRO, the plaintiff generally applies for a Preliminary Injunction (PI). A PI has no fixed 14-day limit and can last until the case is concluded.

In practice, we generally advise clients to first check the document header: is it a TRO Order or a Preliminary Injunction Order? The response pace for each is completely different—at the TRO stage there is still room for negotiation, but by the PI stage the plaintiff has already passed its first burden of proof, and your bargaining chips are noticeably fewer. Don't just focus on the frozen amount; look at how many trademarks, how many patents, and whether there is a copyright registration number listed in the complaint. That directly determines the settlement asking price.

Why you shouldn't write emails to the plaintiff's attorney yourself

Cross-border sellers may have decent English, but using the wrong procedure can dig you into a hole. The U.S. federal court system requires that attorneys appearing in court be admitted to that court's bar, and foreign parties cannot, in their individual capacity, make binding settlement commitments directly to opposing counsel. If you casually reply in an email saying "I'm willing to pay," it may be treated as an admission during the discovery phase. What's worse, many U.S. plaintiff law firms have China-based partners; contacting them directly only exposes that you don't understand the process, and the quoted price will be raised.

The first thing to check when looking for a lawyer is qualifications. Being a patent attorney registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a member of a state bar association, and admitted to a specific federal district court are three different things. TRO cases are mostly filed in the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of New York, and the Southern District of Florida, and the attorney must have an appearance record in those courts. You can ask them to provide the case numbers of TRO cases they have recently handled and check them yourself on PACER—that's more reliable than looking at a resume. When our team handles this type of cross-border dispute, we typically provide the client with a preliminary case assessment sheet within 24 hours, clearly listing the plaintiff, case number, frozen amount, and possible settlement range, so the client has a clear picture before deciding.

Settlement vs. litigation: calculate three accounts, not one

The first account is time. Settlement generally takes 30 to 60 days to sign an agreement and unfreeze; litigation, from answer and discovery to summary judgment, takes as little as 6 months or as long as a year and a half. The second account is money. Common settlement amounts range from 30% to 70% of the frozen amount, depending on the degree of willful infringement and sales volume; attorney fees for litigation typically start at $15,000 to $50,000, not counting travel and expert witnesses. The third account is the store. Settlement can preserve the store and the link's weighting; during litigation, the link is taken down, and even if you ultimately win, the ranking won't come back.

When is it worth fighting? We generally advise clients to consider litigation if the plaintiff's trademark itself is in opposition or cancellation proceedings, if your product is not similar to the goods designated by the registered trademark, or if the plaintiff shows signs of abusing litigation rights by filing in bulk. But note: in bulk-filing cases, there are few judgments where an individual defendant prevails, and most sellers still settle. That's not cowardice—it's after doing the math. To systematically understand enforcement paths in both the U.S. and the EU, you can readUS and EU Intellectual Property Practicethe explanation here.

How the four-step process specifically works

Step one: preserve evidence. Archive all TRO documents, platform freeze notifications, store backend sales data, and screenshots of the accused product links—timestamps are crucial. Step two: choose a lawyer and sign the engagement. Confirm the lawyer can appear in the court where the case is filed, and when signing the Engagement Letter, read the billing method carefully—is it hourly or a flat fee? Step three: the lawyer files an Entry of Appearance with the plaintiff's attorney and applies for an extension to respond, which typically buys an additional 14 to 21 days. Step four: within the extension window, choose one of two paths: settlement negotiations and signing a Settlement Agreement, or filing a Motion to Dissolve/Dismiss. Throughout the process, what the client needs to do is cooperate by providing sales data and proof of product sourcing. Don't conceal anything—the plaintiff will know as soon as they check the platform data.

By the way, copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) and trademark registration with the USPTO are two separate systems. If the plaintiff sues solely on the basis of a copyright registration, your defenses will be different. These kinds of details should be left to a lawyer familiar with U.S. procedure—don't just apply a template yourself. For parallel litigation involving the EU or other jurisdictions, you may refer to intellectual property legal services in other countries.

Ask these five questions when choosing a lawyer

One, do you have admission in the court where this case is filed? Two, how many similar TRO cases have you handled, and what is the case number of the most recent one? Three, what stages does your quote cover, and how is billing handled if negotiations fail and the case goes to litigation? Four, how often will you give me progress updates? Five, if there is a settlement, can you help me review the confidentiality clause and future sales restrictions in the Settlement Agreement? After asking these five questions, you can basically filter out middlemen who only make referrals. Many clients panic the first time and sign with just any agent, and the result is that money is spent but the store is still frozen. Finding a lawyer is not like finding customer service—professional judgment is worth paying for.

The foreign-related intellectual property team at Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has long handled trademark, patent, and copyright matters in the U.S. and EU, and has established procedures for cross-border disputes such as TRO freezes, platform complaints, and customs seizures.Shen Jinlong LawyerOur advice: begin assessment within 48 hours of receiving a freeze notification. The earlier you get involved, the more room there is for negotiation. For more content on overseas enforcement, see Overseas Intellectual Property; for the lawyer team introduction, see Zhiming Lawyer Introduction.

This article was written by Attorney Shen Jinlong of Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm. Attorney Shen Jinlong focuses on foreign-related intellectual property and handles U.S. and EU trademark, patent, and copyright matters as well as cross-border e-commerce TRO freeze responses. Consultation hotline: 0755-25986969.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is a general sharing of legal information and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case. Procedures and precedents vary among U.S. federal district courts, and the outcome of an individual case depends on the specific facts and evidence. Readers should not make decisions based solely on the content of this article and are advised to consult a lawyer qualified to practice in the relevant jurisdiction regarding their own circumstances.