Amazon Snubs Federal Court Order and Rejects Brand Owner Counterfeit Complaints

Consumers are victims of Amazon's inaction and deception.

May 18, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA – Amazon presents itself as a proactive fighter against counterfeits and fraud, claiming to prioritize customer trust. However, a closer look reveals a disturbing truth: Amazon's actions demonstrate a consistent pattern of deception, inaction, and harm inflicted on brand owners and consumers. Despite numerous complaints from brand owners, Amazon consistently ignores their concerns, promotes counterfeit products, and evades accountability for fraudulent and replica merchandise.

The Counterfeit Report, a respected consumer advocate and industry watchdog, has removed listings for over 1.5 million counterfeits from Amazon's websites. This effort represents only a fraction of the counterfeits that 700,000 brands are fighting on Amazon's platform. However, the findings shed light on Amazon's counterfeit problem and overall approach to business.

• One glaring example is Amazon's blatant disregard for a Permanent Injunction Order issued by the Federal District Court of Nevada, explicitly prohibiting the sale of the patent-infringing Recon medical tourniquet shown below. Despite more than 120 removal demands submitted after the court order, Amazon rejected over 100 complaints about the infringing and potentially dangerous or deadly device. Amazon's response, claiming the notices are "invalid or inaccurate," leaves consumers deceived and intellectual property owners unprotected, while Amazon profits from each sale of these items.

  

• Similarly, counterfeit complaints, including products that do not even exist in the trademark owner's product line, are met with unwavering rejection. Amazon continues to sell counterfeit 64GB and 128GB microSDHC® memory cards globally, both as a direct seller and offered by third-party sellers, despite the absence of any legitimate version of these products. Trademark owner counterfeit complaints receive a dismissive response from Amazon, stating that the claim was "invalid or the appeal was successful," without any means of further communication; phone calls go unanswered, email inboxes are full, and reply addresses are non-responsive "no-reply" accounts.

  

• Even when Amazon's legal unit is involved, the company persists in its dubious practices. While accumulating thousands of brand owner counterfeit complaints, Amazon Senior Corporate Counsel Annasara Purcell actively blocked or rejected removal of trademarked counterfeit products purchased from both Amazon as a direct seller and third-party sellers. Shockingly, Purcell insists that counterfeits won't be removed unless the trademark is registered in each of the 23 jurisdictions where Amazon operates websites. This hindrance greatly undermines brand owner efforts, leaving a wake of countless deceived consumers. The bulk of counterfeit items are shipped from or sold by China sellers.

While Amazon boasts about allocating $1.2 billion and employing over 15,000 individuals dedicated to brand protection, the magnitude of the problem raises questions. Amazon claims to have identified, seized, and disposed of over 6 million counterfeit products, doubling last year's figures. However, this increase in counterfeit activity suggests a growing problem rather than a successful resolution. It begs the question: how many counterfeits did Amazon miss?

Consumers and brand owners pay the ultimate price for Amazon's business practices. As they wait for Amazon to take responsibility and proactively safeguard consumers from counterfeit goods, legitimate businesses suffer, consumer trust erodes, and reputable sellers are undermined.