Sony files suit against online sellers over fake accessories

Sony has filed a series of lawsuits against online marketplace sellers accused of selling counterfeit PlayStation accessories.

The actions – filed in an Illinois court – accuse dozens of third-party sellers on Amazon, eBay, Temu, and Walmart of "significant counterfeiting" of Sony's trademarks and copyrighted works on the marketplaces, targeting consumers throughout the US.

The sellers, who are of "unknown makeup," are believed to reside and/or operate in China or other countries with "lax trademark enforcement systems or redistribute products from the same or similar sources in those locations," according to the complaints.

One such seller – operating under the zaocuand-002 handle, whose eBay account was no longer active at the time of writing – had sold more than 9,000 items and had nearly 98 per cent positive feedback, exposing how difficult it can be to detect sellers of counterfeit items on the platform.

"Counterfeiters hedge against the risk of being caught and having their websites taken down from an e-commerce platform by pre-emptively establishing multiple virtual storefronts," according to the lawsuits.

"Since platforms generally do not require a seller on a third-party marketplace to identify the underlying business entity, counterfeiters can have many different profiles that can appear unrelated even though they are commonly owned and operated."

The lawsuits are claiming trademark infringement and counterfeiting, false designation of origin, and copyright infringement and are seeking $2 million for each use of a fake trademark.

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