US-based e-commerce retailer Amazon and French luxury goods retailer Cartier have filed two joint lawsuits against a social media influencer and eight businesses over counterfeit luxury goods.
In a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, the companies accused the unnamed online personality of conspiring with the businesses to sell counterfeit products.
The defendants also engaged in false advertising, resulting in the infringement of Cartier’s registered trademarks and breaching Amazon’s policies.
The social media influencer allegedly pitched Cartier jewellery such as bracelets, necklaces and rings to followers and then provided links to counterfeit versions on Amazon’s website.
The company’s court documents identified the influencer to be a woman in Handan, China, and the businesses to be based in other Chinese cities, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
Amazon and Cartier called on the federal court to make them pay damages and legal costs for selling counterfeit jewellery from June 2020 to June last year.
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By GlobalDataThe second joint lawsuit accuses an Amazon store of selling counterfeit Cartier goods.
The store, trading as YFXF, allegedly marketed jewellery as unbranded on its website but sent buyers imitation items bearing the Cartier trademark.
Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit associate general counsel and director Kebharu Smith said: “By using social media to promote counterfeit products, bad actors undermine trust and mislead customers.
“Amazon will keep investing and innovating to stay ahead of counterfeiters and working with brands and law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable.
“We don’t just want to chase them away from Amazon—we want to stop them for good.”
Amazon recently announced that it will start delivering products using Prime Air drones in the US later this year.
The company will initially offer the service to customers in Lockeford, California.