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Amazon trademark infringement lawsuit overview:
- Who: A California federal judge has recommended Amazon be awarded $425,000 in a trademark infringement lawsuit against Pionera Inc.
- Why: Amazon alleges Pionera scammed consumers by saying it offered technology support for Ring devices and Prime account activation.
- Where: The Amazon trademark infringement lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.
- What are my options: Belkin offers smart doorbell products.
A California judge has recommended Amazon be awarded $425,000 in its trademark infringement lawsuit against a company it says scammed unwitting customers by pretending to offer tech support for Ring devices and Amazon Prime.
On July 7, U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire issued her findings and recommendations in the case lodged against Pionera Inc. and its executive Manoj Goel by Amazon.com Inc and its subsidiaries Amazon Technologies Inc and Ring LLC.
In the trademark lawsuit, Amazon alleges that, while Amazon and Ring each provide free customer support for their products and services, Pionera targeted customers seeking support for Prime Video and Ring security systems with misleading websites that deceive customers to believe they are interacting directly with Amazon or Ring.
“The purpose of defendants’ actions is to obtain payments from consumers for unnecessary and sometimes even fabricated tech support services,” the lawsuit states.
Pionera hurt Amazon and Ring’s brand trust, lawsuit alleges
According to the lawsuit, Pionera was luring and charging its alleged victims for tech support services that the companies provide for free, undermining trust in the Amazon brands.
“Defendants’ actions undermine customer trust in Amazon and Ring by providing false and misleading information to customers about Amazon and Ring’s products and services,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs allege Pionera and Goel control and operate at least two websites that falsely claim to offer Ring setup and tech services and purport to be formally associated with Ring.
The lawsuit details the alleged interactions of an investigator with the defendants, in which the investigator is scammed out of $99.99 and $50 for Ring services, both of which would have been offered for free by the actual company.
In her order, Judge Claire said, because Pionera has not made an appearance in the case, a default judgment is appropriate.
Amazon sought $1.1 million in statutory damages for trademark infringement and cybersquatting under the Lanham Act from both Pionera and Goel, but Judge Claire said damages of $200,000 each, for a total of $400,000, would be more appropriate, along with damages for cybersquatting of $25,000.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been in the news recently thanks to a trio of class action lawsuits, a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a Senate investigation and a $30 million settlement that put an end to two federal data privacy lawsuits. Click here to read more.
What do you think of the allegations against Pionera? Let us know in the comments!
Amazon.com, Amazon Technologies and Ring are represented by Bonnie E. MacNaughton, Ian Harris and Jake Freed of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
The Amazon Pionera case is Amazon.com Inc. et al. v. Pionera Inc. et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-01491, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
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