Canon have recently announced that they have been successful in stopping the sale and distribution of counterfeit Canon batteries and power supplies by a seller in Texas. As part of the resolution, the seller paid a significant amount of money to the company for his unlawful activities and signed a sworn agreement that he would not counterfeit or infringe Canon’s trademarks in the future.
The action against an online seller of counterfeit products located in Texas resulted from Canon’s investigation into the seller’s distribution of counterfeit Canon camera batteries on eBay, and is part of Canon’s ongoing efforts to protect Canon consumers’ health and safety from counterfeit products. Upon being confronted with the evidence, the seller agreed to resolve the matter without litigation. The Canon companies are represented by Mark Schonfeld of Burns & Levinson LLP of Boston, MA and Joseph F. Colvin of Hughes Watters Askanase of Houston, TX.
Canon aggressively pursues counterfeiters in the United States and around the world to protect its customers from spurious and potentially unsafe products which unlawfully use the Canon name, as well as to protect the value, trusted reputation, and loyalty that the Canon brand has acquired over decades in producing high-quality, safe, and reliable products.
The affects of counterfeits
There are many issues caused by the selling of counterfeits on marketplaces. Consumers could end up in peril and with anything fake there is likely to be a lack of performance. It’s not just consumers who suffer but also sellers left battling against unfair competition from counterfeits being offered online at a cheaper prices to lure people in. Hopefully Canon’s case will help deter the likes of dodgy sellers & illegal goods and prompt other big brands to take action making eBay and other online marketplaces safer and fairer environments for consumers and genuine merchants.
