SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 10, 2021– Today, Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Counterfeit Crimes Unit filed four federal lawsuits on behalf of Dutch Blitz Acquisition Corporation (Dutch Blitz), a family-owned card game maker. The lawsuits seek recovery of the profits the owners of Dutch Blitz have lost from counterfeit versions of its card game, which was born in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Amazon and Dutch Blitz filed four lawsuits collectively against four individuals and two entities (the “defendants”) for counterfeiting Dutch Blitz’s card game product. The defendants attempted to offer the infringing product in Amazon’s store, violating Amazon’s policies, infringing on Dutch Blitz’s trademarks, and breaking the law. The suits were filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and allege that the six defendants used Dutch Blitz’s registered trademarks, without authorization, to deceive customers about the authenticity and origin of the products and the affiliation with Dutch Blitz.
Amazon strictly prohibits counterfeit products in its stores, and in 2019 alone, invested more than $500 million to protect customers and brands from fraud and abuse, including counterfeit. Amazon’s proactive investments in preventing counterfeit include robust seller vetting, advanced machine-learning based technologies, and industry-leading brand protection tools like Project Zero, Brand Registry, and Transparency. As a result of Amazon’s efforts, 99.9% of all products viewed by customers on Amazon have not received a valid counterfeit complaint.
In June 2020, Amazon launched its Counterfeit Crimes Unit, a global team dedicated to pursuing bad actors and holding them accountable to the fullest extent of the law, including working with law enforcement. Amazon has filed a series of lawsuits against counterfeiters, including a suit against individuals using social media to promote and facilitate the sale of counterfeits, as well as joint lawsuits with Italian luxury brand Valentino, cosmetics brand KF Beauty, family travel accessory brand JL Childress, and YETI.
Dutch Blitz is a Pennsylvania-based, family-owned-and-operated business started in the 1960s by Werner Ernst George Muller. Today, Mary and Mike Fisher continue to run Dutch Blitz as a family-owned and family-operated business in Pennsylvania and it is one of more than a million small and medium-sized businesses worldwide that sell their products in Amazon’s store.
“We strictly prohibit the sale of counterfeits and have done more than any other retailer to stop the trafficking of counterfeit goods online. We continue to launch new and enhanced verification processes and advanced machine learning based systems to protect customers and prevent bad actors from entering our store. We have invented tools to empower brands to partner with us and better protect their intellectual property, and we have launched the Counterfeit Crimes Unit, staffed with former federal prosecutors and other experts, to hold bad actors accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We are proud that we are able to help protect the intellectual property of small and medium size businesses such as Dutch Blitz through our Counterfeit Crimes Unit,” said Dharmesh Mehta, VP of Customer Trust and Partner Support. “We are tireless in our efforts to ensure only authentic products are sold in our store, and we urge brands, policymakers, and regulators to remain vigilant and continue to partner with us in our shared mission to stop these bad actors.”
“We are seeing real results from Amazon’s work to eliminate counterfeit products from being sold in their store,” said Mary Fisher, President of Dutch Blitz. “It has been incredible to work with their team on these efforts, which have had a meaningful and measurable impact on our brand. We will continue to partner with Amazon to deliver on the commitment we’ve made to our customers who enjoy our game every day.”
The court filings are available here:
- Case: 2:21-cv-00162, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
