Amazon the copyright culprit
Sarah Casilio
Many consumers frequent Amazon’s website to purchase anything from household goods to clothing to even vehicles. It appears the limit does not exist when it comes to Amazon’s inventory. Consumers often find Amazon to be a haven for a variety of affordable products that will be delivered quickly. Some consumers have found fake copies of products they are otherwise unable to afford. Sometimes consumers are not even aware that the product is fake, and they have fallen victim to deceit. Copyright infringement has been and continues to be a problem for Amazon and the companies that suffer from the infringement.
There is a wide array of companies that suffer damages from counterfeiters’ illegal actions. Some companies, including high-end brands, can easily lose consumers to counterfeiters who sell a dupe of their product at a significantly cheaper price. On June 18, for the first time ever, Amazon filed a joint lawsuit with a luxury fashion brand. Maison Valentino and Amazon claim New York-based Kaitlyn Pan Group counterfeited Valentino’s Garavani Rockstud shoes. The defendant continued to sell them after being served with multiple cease and desist letters. The defendant even tried to file a trademark for the shoes completely disregarding Valentino’s intellectual property. As stated in Amazon’s press release, Valentino will receive any proceeds from the lawsuit. Amazon’s efforts to support brands in lawsuits against counterfeiters is one stride towards justice, another is their newly established Counterfeit Crimes Unit.
On June 23, 2020, Amazon announced in a press release that they will be establishing a Counterfeit Crimes Unit to address this problem and bring counterfeiters to justice. The press release states the unit will be comprised of former federal prosecutors, investigators, and data analysts. The first objective is to prevent counterfeit goods from ever being listed on the website. This measure is not the first taken by Amazon to eliminate counterfeit listings. Last year the company invested over $500 million and hired over 8,000 employees to fight fraud. These previous efforts resulted in 6 billion suspicious listings being blocked.
The new unit will investigate attempts to evade Amazon’s systems and list counterfeits. This will allow Amazon to better pursue civil litigation by running investigations with brands either jointly or independently against bad actors. Amazon will continue to build its relationships with international authorities, including the National Intellectual Property Rights Center and Europol, to hold counterfeiters accountable. In the press release, the Vice President of Customer Trust and Partner Support, Dharmesh Mehta, notifies counterfeiters that they will be held to the maximum extent under the appropriate laws. Mehta also encourages governments to fund authorities so they may efficiently bring counterfeiters to justice.
It will be interesting to see if these strides will continue and maybe even start a chain reaction. It would also be great to see other companies follow in Amazon’s footsteps and make greater efforts to not sell or list counterfeit goods. Hopefully, this will provide brands with more courage and support to protect their intellectual property and encourage counterfeiters to stop.
Sources:
https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-establishes-counterfeit-crimes-unit-bring-counterfeiters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-valentino-amazon-lawsuit/amazon-valentino-file-joint-lawsuit-over-shoes-counterfeiting-idUSKBN23P2M3
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/18/technology/18reuters-valentino-amazon-lawsuit.html
https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-and-valentino-file-joint-lawsuit-against-new-york-based
