Walmart Snubs Trademark Owners - Complaints Ignored, Counterfeit Listings Remain

Walmart shoppers face counterfeit, replica, and fraudulent products.

July 16, 2021, Los Angeles, CA – Walmart shoppers already face the daunting challenge of identifying counterfeit, fraudulent, and replica products, but now with an unusual twist -- Walmart is snubbing trademark owners and leaving the counterfeit items listed.

A recent change left trademark owners with an alarming response from Walmart, "We encourage you to contact the sellers offering the product to resolve the matter. Pursuant to our agreement with Marketplace Sellers, we allow them the opportunity to resolve trademark claims directly with the claimant." Counterfeit listings are left posted, and the fake items are available to unsuspecting consumers.

Walmart is both a direct retailer of fake and fraudulent items and has opened its website, Walmart.com, to global third-party sellers who can list just about anything they want, including counterfeit, replica, and fraudulent products. The counterfeit items appear right alongside authentic products, creating the illusion they are from Walmart or have Walmart's endorsement. Deceived consumers spend good money on bad products, while Walmart takes its transaction fee for each item sold.

The Counterfeit Report, a global award-winning consumer advocate and industry watchdog, found over 11,400 counterfeit and fraudulent items on Walmart's website and removed 2,430 fakes at the direction of the infringed brand-owners. Walmart ignored dozens of trademark owner infringement complaints. While some listings were removed, others remained for months or were relisted. Some were ignored entirely. Consumers probably wouldn't suspect the counterfeit items shown below were found or purchased on Walmart.com.

Could you spot a counterfeit, replica, or fraudulent product on Walmart?

• In simple terms, there is no authentic microSDHC® computer memory product in the 2GB and 64GB capacities shown, the SDHC standard, or any licensed manufacturer's authentic product line. The counterfeit microSDHC cards shown here were offered by Walmart as a direct retailer or third-party sellers on Walmart. SD-3C, LLC owns and licenses the microSD® and microSDHC® trademarks to authentic, conforming products. Consumers risk malware and losing their data and images using counterfeit memory products.

• Composite Resources Combat Application Tourniquet® (C-A-T®) has been supplied to the U.S. Military, police, first responders and the public worldwide for the past decade. Counterfeit and replica versions of the patented C-A-T tourniquet have catastrophically failed during actual life-saving medical emergencies. Of the 52 listings reviewed on Walmart.com by The Counterfeit Report, only four products appeared authentic but can not be verified without a purchase.

• Unscrupulous China salvagers re-label recycle unprotected 18650 Li-ion battery cells as "new" and sell them on Walmart at low prices with wild capacity claims. There is no legitimate individual 18650 battery with a capacity of 3800mAh or above, yet batteries with capacity claims up to 12,000mAh are offered on Walmart. The fraudulent batteries have an explosion and fire risk, and can be deadly. An authentic Samsung® 2500mAh battery is shown.

© The Counterfeit Report

Everyone knows selling counterfeits is illegal, yet through huge legal loopholes and virtually immune to prosecution, IP laws, and safety standards, Walmart continues to enable and facilitate criminal activity with impunity. Walmart profits from fraudulent sales which impact consumer safety, jobs, and public trust. The consequence is destroyed U.S. companies and retailers, lost U.S. jobs, and duped consumers. The value of counterfeit and pirated goods is forecast to grow to $2.8 trillion and cost 5.4 million net job losses by 2022 says a International Chamber of Commerce Report.

View more Walmart fakes here.