Maglula claims victory in counterfeit battle with Amazon

Gun accessories company Maglula says it has won a long-running court case with Amazon, seeking to make the online retail giant liable for the sale of counterfeits on its platform.

The dispute, which dates back to early 2020, is significant because it maintains that Amazon should be liable as the seller of the counterfeits, rather than third-party vendors listing goods on its marketplace.

Maglula has complained that knock-off versions of its products – particularly its UpLULA loader – are widespread on Amazon's US site.

So far, any lawsuit seeking to make the retail giant liable in this way has been knocked back in the courts. In this case however, US District Court Judge Liam O'Grady determined Amazon could not avoid liability for the infringement of Maglula's intellectual property when counterfeit products were sold on the platform.

O'Grady – who earlier this year shot down an attempt by Amazon to secure a summary judgment in the case and rebuked the company for being "too aggressive" – dismissed Amazon's motion to end the lawsuit and a settlement was reached on Friday. The terms of the settlement are not being disclosed.

The court ruled last year that Amazon must submit to an inspection of its inventory by Maglula, which makes magazine loaders for firearms.

According to attorneys at Finnegan, which represented Maglula in the suit, the case also marked "a number of 'firsts' in counterfeit lawsuits against Amazon," including the order to allow Amazon’s warehouses to be inspected for counterfeits and "a finding that Amazon destroyed evidence after Maglula filed its complaint."

A representative for Finnegan said the outcome of the case was "a victory not only for the gun accessory seller, but other companies that have attempted to fight counterfeits being sold on the e-commerce giant’s platform."

SecuringIndustry.com has reached out to Amazon for comment on the outcome, but a spokesman for the company said it would not comment on litigation.