Amazon and GoPro have announced that the two entities have jointly filed lawsuit against seven individuals and two entities for making and selling counterfeit GoPro camera accessories.
Both entities allege that the nine total defendants in the suit counterfeited multiple GoPro accessories including the floating hand grip, “The Handler,” and the “3-Way” grip, extension arm, and tripod mount. This action was a violation of Amazon’s policies and infringed on multiple GoPro trademarks.
The lawsuit states that the nine defendants used GoPro’s registered trademarks without authorization from GoPro with the express purpose of deceiving customers about the authenticity and origin of the products as well as the desire to create a false affiliation with GoPro. Amazon says that it has since closed the defendants’ selling accounts and proactively refunded the impacted customers.
As noted by Engadget, this is not the first time that a major company has taken legal action against fraudulent items on Amazon. In 2015, Apple alleged that about 90% of the Lightning cables and chargers listed as “fulfilled by Amazon” were counterfeit. Amazon contends that less than 0.01% of products sold on its marketplace were the subject of counterfeit complaints from customers, but since Amazon doesn’t reveal the total number of products it sells, that percentage doesn’t mean a lot to most people.
Amazon also says that in June of last year it launched what it calls its “Counterfeit Crimes Unit” which is a team it tasks with finding and pursuing counterfeiters that use Amazon to deceive customers. Amazon says that it has filed a series of lawsuits against counterfeiters, including a suit against individuals using social media to promote and facilitate the sale of counterfeits, as well as joint lawsuits with apparel manufacturer HanesBrands, Italian luxury brands Valentino and Ferragamo, cosmetics brand KF Beauty, family travel accessory brand JL Childress, cooler manufacturer YETI, family-owned-and-operated card game company Dutch Blitz, and global board game publisher Asmodee.
Counterfeit products continue to be an issue with online shopping where it is difficult for buyers to see major indicators that the product is not legitimate. In the imaging space, Canon in particular has been beating the drum loudly against fake products. Last year, Canon scored a huge victory in a case against counterfeit sellers on eBay and just this week launched a comprehensive microsite that helps customers detect fake products that are still quite prevalent in the marketplace.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.