Amazon and GoPro have filed a joint Lawsuit against individuals for counterfeiting GoPro accessories. The products in question include the floating hand grip, “The Handler,” and the “3-Way” grip, extension arm, and tripod mount.
The defendants attempted to offer the infringing products in Amazon’s store, violating Amazon’s policies, infringing on GoPro’s trademarks, and breaking the law. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and alleges that the nine defendants used GoPro’s registered trademarks without authorization to deceive customers about the authenticity and origin of the products and create a false affiliation with GoPro. Amazon closed the defendants’ selling accounts and proactively refunded the impacted customers.
“When counterfeiters attempt to sell in our store, they not only violate the intellectual property rights of companies like GoPro, they also mislead consumers and harm Amazon’s reputation as a place to buy authentic goods,”
– Kebharu Smith, Director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit
Amazon strictly prohibits infringing and counterfeit products in its store, and in 2020, Amazon invested more than $700 million and employed more than 10,000 people to proactively protect its store from fraud, counterfeit, and abuse. Amazon uses industry-leading tools to verify potential sellers’ identities and ensure product listings are authentic, and Amazon’s proprietary systems analyze hundreds of unique data points to verify information provided by potential sellers. In 2020, only 6% of attempted new seller account registrations passed Amazon’s robust verification processes and listed products for sale. In addition, fewer than 0.01% of all products sold on Amazon received a counterfeit complaint from customers
Since we are on the subject of cameras, it feels like a good time to revive Peak Design’s funny parody video released after they refused to be beaten by an Amazon Basics lookalike of their ‘everyday sling’ Camera bag.
