Amazon Snubs Brand Owners - Counterfeits Remain

Counterfeits, fraud and scams flood Amazon's marketplace.

September 18, 2018 - Los Angeles, CA – When you tell a story, you better make sure it’s true and that you’re actually doing what you claim you’re doing. When you get caught in a lie or exaggeration, your credibility is destroyed. That's happened to Amazon, who is facing allegations of counterfeit products, scams, fake reviews, data leaks and employee bribes.

Myth: Amazon claims;

"We work closely with vendors, sellers and rights owners to strengthen protections for their brands on Amazon. Any rights owner can register with Amazon's Brand Registry service to manage and protect their brand and intellectual property rights on Amazon.

In addition, we encourage rights owners who have a product authenticity concern to notify us, and we investigate any such claims thoroughly. We remove suspected counterfeit items as soon as we become aware of them, and we remove bad actors from selling on Amazon." Read the full statement

Fact: Repeated brand owner complaints are ignored, consumers are deceived and counterfeits and fakes can remain for months or relisted. Brand owners can expect no more than an automated response while their reputations are destroyed, and their retailers crushed.

Amazon recently required brand owners to register with their "Brand Registry" program, or sign up for an Amazon Seller Account to submit counterfeit complaints. Amazon touts that 60,000 brand owners have signed up for its Brand Registry program, but the real question is why? Amazon claims it doesn't have a counterfeit problem.

Registering appears innocuous enough, however brand owners agreeing to Amazon's Terms and Conditions (in legalese - an "Adhesion Contract" - in which only one party has input and benefits from the conditions) contractually waive specific rights, including;

• Amazon's obligation to remove the infringing product,
• participation in, or initiating, class action lawsuits,
• court and jury trials,
• confidentiality of their submitted content, which becomes the property of Amazon, including the right to publish or display.

China recently passed legislation holding e-commerce websites (Including Amazon) accountable for counterfeits beginning January 1, 2019, with fines up to $291,000 per infringement.

Is Amazon positioning itself to avoid an avalanche of claims and litigation from brand owners?