Apple sues over counterfeit products
This week tech giant Apple has launched a trademark infringement case against an Amazon seller after discovering that some products listed for sale on the online marketplace were in fact fakes.
The list of counterfeit goods included sync cables, chargers and power adaptors, which had all been categorised under the genuine Apple tag and made available for order under Amazon’s own ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ scheme.
An Apple statement read that:
“Apple’s international examination and testing for these products revealed almost 90% of these products are counterfeit.
Apple is concerned that consumers are being deceived into purchasing counterfeit products on Amazon.com and elsewhere in the mistaken belief that they are purchasing genuine Apple products”.
As well as potentially disappointing Apple fans who are looking for a bargain, there are more serious risks involved with one customer leaving a review to complain that their phony charger caught fire after just a few hours of use.
Furthermore, it has been found that the fake products were poorly constructed and unlikely to function as well as genuine Apple goods leading to the Silicon Valley based company taking legal action to preserve their brand’s reputation.
The counterfeit products were discovered after Apple reportedly spent nine months purchasing over 100 iPhone accessories, Apple power products and Lightning cables advertised and sold as genuine on listings from Amazon.com and found that one company was the source for the vast majority of the fakes.
Even though the counterfeits were ordered through Amazon, the lawsuit does not mention any action to be taken against the e-commerce giant, particularly as they cooperated with Apple by providing information on the sellers in question.
Did you know that counterfeit activity can lead up to around $1.7 trillion lost in global sales per year?
Contact Addmaster today to find out how to protect your products with Verimaster anti-counterfeit additives.
← Back to blog