What if you're buying and re-selling jerseys from China but you were never AWARE that they were produced without a license

No, pleading ignorance doesn't work. There is no more petty, lame ass excuse than "I didn't know the stuff was counterfeit." If you sell the stuff then its your JOB to know whether the stuff is counterfeit. If you sell counterfeit products then your guilty not only of infringement but of violating criminal laws as well.

As my colleague wrote, if you sell it, you're responsible for knowing what it is and for any problems with it. You're in the chain of distribution, so if you're the retailer, you're just as liable as the manufacturer and the wholesaler. As a practical matter, you're the most responsible if you're the only one that's here in the U.S. and your manufacturer and/or wholesaler is in China. If you got warranties of authenticity whoever you bought these jerseys from, and they were fraudulent warranties based on fake or no real licenses, you could cross-complain against them if you got sued in the U.S. by the trademark owner. But good luck collecting from any Chinese manufacturers/wholesalers. They're notorious infringers, and their county's IP laws, to the extent that they exist, are lax and not enforced --but you knew that, I suspect. Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Trademark infringement is a strict liability offense, like parking where the yellow curb is obscured by snow, and unawareness is not a defense. Get a warranty of authenticity of the jerseys, but beware that if the goods are not authentica and you are caught and the seller to you disappears or cannot be collected from, the damages, costs, and attorney fees are payable by you. The above is not legal advice but general observation; no attorney-client relation is established by this post between me and you or any other reader. Best wishes!

It is irrelevant that you never knew the goods were produced without a license. You have a duty to assure that the goods are authentic before you sell them. Even if you obtain written warranties of authenticity from your chinese supplier, you still can be deemed liable for infringement if the warranties were false. In short, if you operate a store or web-site where you re-sell jerseys from China, you have an absolute obligation to assure that the goods are authentic. This is not so hard--if you are dealing with a legitimate vendor, simply ask the vendor to send you a copy of the license agreement. A legitimate vendor will have PDF's of this ready for you to review--together with contact information with the U.S. licensor so you can verify that the documents are authentic. If the vendor refuses to give you a copy of the license agreement, then run away as fast as you can.