Amazon and GoPro file joint lawsuit against counterfeiters

Amazon.com, Inc. and GoPro, Inc. unsealed a jointly filed lawsuit against seven individuals and two entities for counterfeiting GoPro’s popular camera accessories, including 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,” said Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, in a statement.

Amazon strictly prohibits infringing and counterfeit products in its store, and in 2020, Amazon invested more than 700 million dollars and employed more than 10,000 people to proactively protect its store from fraud, counterfeit, and abuse. In 2020, only 6 percent of attempted new seller account registrations passed Amazon’s robust verification processes and listed products for sale. In addition, fewer than 0.01 percent of all products sold on Amazon received a counterfeit complaint from customers.

In June 2020, Amazon launched its Counterfeit Crimes Unit, a global team dedicated to pursuing counterfeiters and holding them accountable to the fullest extent of the law, including by working through the court system and in partnership with law enforcement. Amazon has filed a series of lawsuits against counterfeiters, including a suit against individuals using social media to promote and facilitate the sale of counterfeits, as well as joint lawsuits with apparel manufacturer HanesBrands, Italian luxury brands Valentino and Ferragamo, cosmetics brand KF Beauty, family travel accessory brand JL Childress, cooler manufacturer YETI, family-owned-and-operated card game company Dutch Blitz, and global board game publisher Asmodee. GoPro was founded in 2002 and its products are used extensively by active people wishing to capture themselves on video.