Unmasking Luxury Knockoffs: Amazon Sues Influencers for Promoting Counterfeit Goods

Amazon is suing two social media influencers for promoting the sale of counterfeit luxury goods on the platform. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.   Show Notes: Jamie: Last week, Amazon.com, Seattle-based tech and e-commerce giant, and its counterfeit crimes unit launched lawsuits in Seattle federal court against two social media influencers and their coconspirators, accusing the defendants of using their profiles to promote, advertise, and facilitate the sale of knockoff luxury brand products as part of a scheme with third-party counterfeit sellers. I'm Jamie Lincenberg of Weintraub Tobin, and we'll be joining my colleague Scott Hervey to talk about this case on today's episode of The Briefing. Scott: Thank you for joining me today, Jamie. Can you provide us with a quick recap of the lawsuits? Jamie: Sure. In the filed complaints, Amazon Alleges that Influencers Ashley Howett and Cameron Russell posted links on Instagram and other social platforms to direct their followers to dupes of Prada, Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and other designer accessories through hidden links leading to seemingly generic product listings in the Amazon store. The lawsuits say that both influencers collaborated with a series of retailers on, per the complaints, sophisticated campaigns of false advertising in an attempt to evade Amazon's counterfeit and infringement detection tools. Amazon alleges that both influencers use the same CD method to avoid getting caught through social media posts. The influencers make it very clear that they are promoting fake versions of the luxury brand items but then direct their followers to product listing pages in the seller's Amazon stores, where the items appear generic with blurred logos or pixelated images. Amazon's complaint against how it says that she openly acknowledged that the products were fake, informed her followers that they would receive products bearing luxury brand trademarks, and urged them to order the products before Amazon could take down the listings. According to the lawsuit against how Amazon, investigators ordered some of the products that she advertised and confirmed they spore the stolen brand names and logos. Scott: Both Howet and Russell, of course, received commissions for sales via the links they shared on their social media channels. Jamie: Yeah. The crux of the case against the influencers there are a number of charges against the manufacturers of the counterfeit goods, which are allegedly Chinese manufacturers located in various provinces of China. But the crux against the influencers is 15 USC. 1125 A, which is part of the Lanham Act. And that statute prohibits the use in commerce of any mark or false designation of origin, which can be a designation of the manufacturer in connection with goods that are false. Or misleading and which A are likely to cause confusion or to cause mistake or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his. Or her goods, services, or commercial activities by that other person or b in commercial advertising or promotion misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person's goods, services, or commercial activities. The lawsuits accuse the influencers of contributory violations of this statute. The complaint alleges that the influencers' liability stems from their knowing,