Warner Bros have filed court papers to sue several Amazon sellers, mainly un-named “John Does”, for copyright infringement. Citing movies such as Hung, One Tree Hill and the Harry Potter series Warner alleges “systematic and wilful” sales of counterfeit copies on Amazon.
Apparently Warner have been doing test purchases and have bought multiple counterfeit copies of the films from all the sellers involved. As Warner claim exclusive distribution rights it’s unknown whether these are legitimate copies destined for sale outside the US and imported on the grey market, or if they’re out and out counterfeits.
It would also be interesting to know if the products were shipped by the retailers, or if they were sold under the Amazon FBA program. However details are still sketchy. Regardless it’s best to make sure that products you’re selling are legitimate and that you have permission to sell them in the territories that you trade in.
Interestingly Warner hasn’t sued Amazon themselves, who regardless would be able to claim protection as a “Marketplace”. Amazon recently signed a licensing deal with Warner Bros to add popular TV shows, including Fringe and The West Wing, to their Amazon Prime video on demand catalogue.
