The latest case to come before the court is that of “American Eagle Outfitters” vs. “Amazon,” suing the latter for allegedly selling counterfeit products that mimic the clothing line of “Aerie,” the popular subbrand of American Eagle. Filed in September last year in the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit claimed that Amazon had abused Aerie’s trademarks to lead consumers towards the sale of counterfeit products that sported labels such as “Aeries” or “Aries.” The fake products were almost entirely sold on Amazon through its third-party seller marketplace, an area notorious for years over the rampant flow of counterfeit goods.
American Eagle claims that Amazon specifically featured these knock-offs in sponsored ads and search results, misleading consumers into purchasing these imitations as actual Aerie products. Amazon has profited from the use of the American Eagle’s mark because of its ability to drive traffic towards these counterfeit goods—a huge amount of which were of subpar quality—presenting a huge threat to the brand identity of Aerie and its direct relationship with its customers.
Of course, Amazon has had its own share of similar suits from other brands in the past, including “Birkenstock” and “Mercedes-Benz,” which pulled their products off the platform due to the rampant production of counterfeit versions. In efforts to avoid such practices, including a whole new anti-counterfeiting task force on Amazon and legal moves against a marked-up number of counterfeiters, Amazon is still grappling with the sheer volume of fake products sold by third-party sellers.
American Eagle seeks to enjoin Amazon from allegedly infringing its trademark as well as money damages. The case represents one small part of an overall issue that faces online marketplaces and the often-hobbled position that brands are left in when trying to defend intellectual property against rogue counterfeiters. As this case rolls forward, it will be a template for other retailers wrestling with the same problems to try to deal with infringement on e-commerce sites.
