Amazon, GoPro team up to sue counterfeiters

Amazon and GoPro have filed a joint lawsuit charging defendants with counterfeiting the camera maker's accessories, including grips and mounts.

The suit accuses several individuals and entities of counterfeiting GoPro products such as the company's Handler floating hand grip and its 3-Way grip, extension arm, and tripod mount, and attempting to sell the fake accessories on Amazon's online store.

The e-commerce giant said in a statement that the actions of the defendants violated its policies and infringed on GoPro's trademarks. All of those named in the suit are from China, but it also cites 10 unidentified individuals involved in the sale of the counterfeit products.

The damage to brands from this type of activity is evident from the complaint. One customer complained in Amazon's review system as follows:

"Just received the package today, it looks like a fake one…very disappointed with what was provided by GoPro. I will not purchase any more products of this brand from now on."

The suit was filed in US District Court for the Western District of Washington, and focuses on third-party sellers on Amazon's Marketplace. The company said it refunded sales to customers after determining they had purchased counterfeit items, and had shut down the seller accounts.

Counterfeit Handler accessories tended to have a darker coloured foam handle than the genuine item, according to court papers. The 3-Way fakes had a rougher surface, a different number and allocation of dots in different locations on the arm of the product, and a smaller and less conspicuous button.

The suit (No. 2:21-cv-00358-RAJ) is claiming trademark infringement, false designation of origin and false advertising, and violation of consumer protection laws, and is seeking an injunction on any future sales, impounding of all fake products, damages and costs.

Amazon has meanwhile been in the firing line itself for allowing third-party sellers to sell counterfeits.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) filed a complaint last month  focusing on the e-commerce giant's "fulfilled by Amazon" (FBA) service, where items are sold by a third party but use Amazon storage, packing and delivery resources and are dispatched from an Amazon fulfilment centre.

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