Amazon and Brother announced legal action against 18 suspected members of a Germany-based counterfeiting ring.
Amazon said in its announcement that the accused attempted to deceive customers by selling counterfeit toner cartridges marketed as genuine products. This civil lawsuit is the first that Amazon has filed jointly with a brand against counterfeiters in Europe.
The lawsuit, filed with the Berlin Regional Court, alleges that they colluded to sell counterfeit products and circumvent Amazon and Brother’s systems. The legal action was initiated by Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) – a global team of experts specialising in investigations and lawsuits against bad-intentioned actors to protect customers, selling partners and brands. In addition to the lawsuit being filed, the companies have informed the local police authorities about the alleged counterfeiting ring.
“We do not tolerate counterfeit products in our stores. This is the first lawsuit of this type that we are filing in Europe. We are making it very clear that we are taking tough action to hold bad actors accountable wherever they go wrong,” said Kebharu Smith, Head of Amazon’s CCU. “We will continue to fight alongside businesses of all sizes to protect customers from counterfeit products and brands from trademark infringement.”
“Brother always puts its customers first, everywhere. We are committed to detecting counterfeiting online and offline, working with our partners like the Amazon CCU and law enforcement agencies to protect our customers,” said Isao Noji, Managing Director of Brother International Europe Ltd.
The alleged scammers are said to have bought empty original Brother toner cartridges and filled them with fake toner powder, in addition to selling counterfeit cartridges designed to look like genuine products. In order to “camouflage” their plan, the accused also used imitations of holographic security labels that are attached to the packaging of Brother cartridges. The counterfeit products can harm not only printers but also the environment, Amazon added.
Noji added: “Protecting intellectual property has become one of the most important measures for Brother. It is not only about protecting our trademarks, copyrights and patents, but also about protecting our customers and the trust that that they put into our products and our brand. It is crucial for Brother customers and partners to always buy from reliable distribution channels, suppliers and retailers, verify the authenticity of the product and control the packaging and print quality.”
