http://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-amazon-suing-companies-sell-192002335.html

"The e-commerce giant for the first time has filed lawsuits against counterfeit sellers, after a number of businesses on Amazon voiced concern that knockoffs were killing their sales and endangering consumers."

Could eventually help the reseller community by further weeding out the knockoffs. If nothing else, it shows that Amazon is willing to bend to the pressure of sellers if they get hit in great numbers. LEGO putting some pressure would certainly assist in this matter.

Not that they may take initiative, but I messaged LEGO pointing to this new development. Maybe if enough of us do so they may actually turn and take it to Amazon themselves.

Amazon has started suing. This is fannnnnnntastic.

This doesn't make much sense to me?  Suing those who sell counterfeits under legit listings, or those who sell counterfeits under counterfeit listings?  Why don't they just remove the bogus listings?

Just now, exciter1 said:

This doesn't make much sense to me?  Suing those who sell counterfeits under legit listings, or those who sell counterfeits under counterfeit listings?  Why don't they just remove the bogus listings?

How would that help all those poor lawyers make a buck?

About bloody time.

I think as a community of profit generators for ebay we should be pressuring them to take similar action. 

4 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

This doesn't make much sense to me?  Suing those who sell counterfeits under legit listings, or those who sell counterfeits under counterfeit listings?  Why don't they just remove the bogus listings?

Deterrence.

6 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

This doesn't make much sense to me?  Suing those who sell counterfeits under legit listings, or those who sell counterfeits under counterfeit listings?  Why don't they just remove the bogus listings?

And they filed the lawsuit right before the holiday season... what a coincidence  

 

"Amazon said it invests tens of millions of dollars in developing and deploying technology to weed out counterfeiters. When sellers sign up on the marketplace, "Amazon's automated systems scan information about the sellers for signals that the sellers might be bad actors, and Amazon blocks those sellers during registration before they can offer any products for sale.""

4 minutes ago, donbee said:

"Amazon said it invests tens of millions of dollars in developing and deploying technology to weed out counterfeiters. When sellers sign up on the marketplace, "Amazon's automated systems scan information about the sellers for signals that the sellers might be bad actors, and Amazon blocks those sellers during registration before they can offer any products for sale.""
 

Lol that line stuck out like a sore thumb.  Shouldn't Amazon be suing itself then?  The technology obviously failed to perform

This doesn't make much sense to me?  Suing those who sell counterfeits under legit listings, or those who sell counterfeits under counterfeit listings?  Why don't they just remove the bogus listings?

Sounds like they are going after patent infringers. Those are the easiest targets.
If Lepin makes a copy of a Tie Fighter it doesn't have a license for, that should be enough. We'll see.

Interestingly, they picked some smaller businesses. Seems it would be much easier to file a suit with Disney or Lego or even Apple if they want to catch counterfeits. Why TRX, why not Nike? Who has a forearm forklift? I do actually. Got it on clearance at tj Maxx, but seriously the number of forearm forklift copiers verses Lego copiers...

I guess the difference would be patent infringement, versus trademark infringement.
Are they going for the low hanging fruit for a publicity stunt, as the guy suggests. Maybe they want to build a reputation as the big guy that sticks up for the little guy.
That makes sense to me.
They'd get the most bang for their legal bucks.

I'm sorry, but this a joke:

1 hour ago, donbee said:

"Amazon said it invests tens of millions of dollars in developing and deploying technology to weed out counterfeiters. When sellers sign up on the marketplace, "Amazon's automated systems scan information about the sellers for signals that the sellers might be bad actors, and Amazon blocks those sellers during registration before they can offer any products for sale.""
 

What a total crock. So you pre-scan their accounts? Big whoop. Once they're in (and you can bet those phony baloney sellers are doing everything they can to register), they're good to go! Yeehaw!

If they invested a fraction of those millions in a workforce of people to respond, investigate and remove counterfeit and fraudulent listings I'd bet they would be miles ahead.

 

 

23 hours ago, donbee said:

Interestingly, they picked some smaller businesses. Seems it would be much easier to file a suit with Disney or Lego or even Apple if they want to catch counterfeits. Why TRX, why not Nike? Who has a forearm forklift? I do actually. Got it on clearance at tj Maxx, but seriously the number of forearm forklift copiers verses Lego copiers...
 

Forearm forklifts inventor was in the news (GMA I think) talking about how the counterfeits where dangerous besides beating illegal. 

New twist to this: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-counterfeit-lawsuit-idUSKBN13V24T

 

Quote

 

By Jonathan Stempel | NEW YORK

Makers of the Snuggie blanket and other products sold mainly on TV have sued Amazon.com Inc, accusing the internet retailer of trademark infringement for letting an "astronomical" number of counterfeit products to be sold through its website.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday night by Allstar Marketing Group LLC, Ideavillage Products Corp and Ontel Products Corp, which respectively sell such products as the Snuggie, Copper Fit compression sleeves and Magic Tracks toy racetracks through so-called "As Seen on TV" advertising.

It was filed three weeks after Seattle-based Amazon filed two of its own lawsuits in a Washington state court, targeting vendors it said were selling counterfeit goods on its website.

 

 

Amazon spokesman Erik Fairleigh declined to comment on Tuesday, citing the pending litigation.

Allstar, Ideavillage and Ontel said they have lost profits because Amazon has let its product display pages be "hijacked" by counterfeiters, which offer impossibly low prices and confuse consumers into thinking their products are the real thing.

The plaintiffs said counterfeiters from China, Japan, Thailand and other countries are taking a "free ride" on their reputation and goodwill, while many consumers leave bad reviews about fake products on the hijacked pages.

"Amazon has taken no action to prevent the sale of such counterfeit products despite having the knowledge, opportunity and means to do so," the plaintiffs said.

The lawsuit also accuses Amazon of copyright infringement, and violating New York state false advertising and unfair competition laws.

It seeks to recoup unspecified sums in the millions of dollars, including lost profits and punitive damages. The plaintiff's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.

Allstar is based in Hawthorne, New York; Ideavillage in Wayne, New Jersey and Ontel in Fairfield, New Jersey.

Amazon's anti-counterfeiting policy says that "customers trust that they can always buy with confidence on Amazon.com," and that counterfeiters can have their selling privileges revoked and inventory destroyed without reimbursement.

The lawsuits filed by Amazon on Nov. 14 in the Superior Court in King County, Washington targeted makers of what it called fake versions of Forearm Forklift straps, which help people lift heavy items, and TRX exercise products.

In July, the German shoemaker Birkenstock Orthopadie GmbH decided to stop selling on Amazon because of counterfeiters.

The case is Allstar Marketing Group LLC et al v Amazon.com Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-09376.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby, Bernard Orr)

 

 

Good for them to stand up to Amazon. All they seem to care about is the fees the collect on sales.