Amazon is facing a US lawsuit about how it presents search results to buyers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in favour of a watch manufacturer that claimed Amazon’s search results could cause confusion for buyers.
MTM Special Ops makes a military style timepiece that isn’t sold on Amazon. However, if an Amazon shopper does search for such products they don’t say they don’t sell them. Rather other, similar products are displayed for purchase. MTM allege that this will encourage shoppers to buy such watches rather than look elsewhere for MTM’s products.
The court judgement said: “We think a jury could find that Amazon has created a likelihood of confusion.” MTM lawyer Eric Levinrad on Monday noted that Amazon, unlike other online retailers, doesn’t provide a message that they don’t sell an item when a buyer gets null results.
It’s quite an interesting case and we’ll keep you updated on how it progresses.
One Response
If I am remember correctly Lush the soap maker had a case very similar. They won the case if I remember correctly.