Ginny Sanderson Addresses Counterfeiting on Amazon Marketplace in Daily Journal

Online counterfeiters troll the internet for their next victim, especially in online marketplaces such as Ebay and Amazon Marketplace. Partner Ginny Sanderson comments on online marketplace case law in the Daily Journal article, “Online marketplace companies bolster in-house trust and safety departments”. Due to the high propensity of counterfeiting, online marketplaces have created “trust and safety” departments to combat fraud. “I think it’s obvious there have been counterfeit goods for sale since the dawn of time, but now the digital age has just made counterfeiting of things so easy,” says Ms. Sanderson.

Under current law, it is difficult to hold online marketplaces liable for counterfeit products being sold on their websites. In addition, Ms. Sanderson notes that if the vendors of the authentic products are also Amazon sellers, or do business through other online marketplaces, they are hesitant to bring legal action against their marketplace providers. However, if a new case is upheld finding the marketplace liable for aiding and abetting counterfeiting, it could cause a circuit court split, as well as an uptick in lawsuits filed against the counterfeiter and marketplace.