Amazon Begins Cracking Down on Product Counterfeiters Online
This week, Amazon.com filed two lawsuits against product counterfeiters who allegedly have been listing counterfeit goods on its site. The move comes just as the largest online retailer in the world gears up for the all-important holiday buying season, according to The Wall Street Journal.
To fuel its growth, Amazon has increasingly relied on third-party sellers. Today, half of Amazon’s sales have been generated by outside merchants. This process has led to a rise of counterfeit goods in the company’s Fulfillment by Amazon program.
Amazon’s lawsuits, which were filed in Washington State, pertain to fake versions of the Forearm Forklift, a strap system that allows users to lift heavy items, and TRX Suspension Trainer workout bands and products.
The suits note:
When customers purchase counterfeit goods, it undermines the trust that customers, sellers and manufacturers place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon’s brand and causing irreparable reputational harm.
Apple
Last month, Apple said that fake power adapters were rampant on Amazon. As Patently Apple noted at the time:
… Apple filed a trademark infringement cases against Mobile Star LLC for selling counterfeit power products such as power adapters and charging cables through Amazon.com. Apple believes these counterfeit products could lead to fires and are therefore a risk to the public.
As a long-time Amazon buyer, I’m thrilled by this news. Hopefully, we’ll see more crackdowns in the future.
In the meantime, you can protect yourself by only buying products on Amazon that say “Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.”
Product Counterfeiters on Amazon
