Amazon, Nintendo, P&G files lawsuits against alleged counterfeiters

Counterfeit lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Amazon.com is joining both Nintendo and Proctor & Gamble in lawsuits against individuals selling counterfeit products in the Amazon Store. 
• Why: The sellers are selling products that violate the copyrights of both Nintendo and Proctor & Gamble in their Amazon store sales, counterfeit lawsuits claim.
• Where: The Amazon lawsuits were filed in federal court in Seattle, Washington.

Amazon.com is joining Nintendo and Proctor & Gamble in lawsuits against sellers of purportedly counterfeit Nintendo Amiibo cards and video game cartridges or SK-II skin care products in the Amazon Store.

The Nintendo lawsuit does not name individual sellers responsible for the accounts while the Sk-II lawsuit names 10 individuals associated with those accounts.

“Defendants’ illegal actions have caused Amazon and P&G to expend significant resources to investigate and combat defendants’ wrongdoing and to bring this lawsuit to prevent defendants from inflicting future harm to Amazon, P&G, and their customers,” the Amazon lawsuit says.

While creating Amazon seller accounts, the individuals promised not to sell counterfeit items and agreed to provide Amazon with accurate information, the company claims.

The counterfeit lawsuits aim to block future sales from the accounts and force the defendants to pay for the damages they have allegedly caused, the Nintendo lawsuit says.

Amazon invested $1.2B to prevent fraud and abuse in Amazon Store in 2022, company says

The lawsuits are part of an overall Amazon effort to block counterfeit items from selling in the Amazon Store.

The company says that it blocked 80,000 suspected bad actor accounts before any sales were completed. It says it spent $1.2 billion and employed 15,000 people in 2022 alone to protect the Amazon Store from fraud and abuse.

The manufacturers of OtterBox protective cases filed a lawsuit in September against third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace over claims they are selling counterfeit protective cases that illegally bear the OtterBox trademark.

Have you found items that were counterfeit being sold on Amazon.com? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Scott R. Commerson and Lauren Rainwater of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

The counterfeit lawsuits are Amazon.com Inc, et al. v. Abdyrakhmanova, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-01646, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle Division and Amazon.com Inc, et al. v. Individuals and Entities Doing Business as Certain Amazon Selling Accounts, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-01641, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle Division.

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