Amazon, Cartier slap Chinese social media influencer, 8 others with lawsuits over trademark infringement, false advertising

A Chinese social media influencer and eight businesses operating on the mainland are accused of advertising, promoting and selling fake Cartier jewellery
The legal action reflects more signs of trouble for merchants belonging to the ‘made in China, sold on Amazon’ community

E-commerce

Yaling Jiangin Shanghai

Published: 9:00pm, 16 Jun 2022

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E-commerce giant Amazon and luxury goods maker Cartier on Wednesday jointly sued a Chinese group for advertising, promoting and selling counterfeit jewellery that infringe on the French firm’s registered trademarks and violate the US shopping site’s policies.

Two joint lawsuits were filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington against a social media influencer from northern China and eight businesses. They are accused of colluding with each other to sell fake Cartier bracelets, necklaces and rings, and engaging in false advertising through Instagram, social media reference landing page Linktree and other websites.

One of the goods promoted by that group is a replica of Cartier’s Love bracelet, which was disguised as a non-branded product on Amazon and described as “Women’s Fashion Classic Screw Love Titanium Steel Bracelet”, according to a statement from Amazon on Wednesday. It said the advertised product did not mention Cartier, but contained an image that carefully concealed the screw motif of the French firm’s authentic Love bracelet.

On Instagram, the product was clearly advertised as a counterfeit with images bearing the Cartier name and screw motif, Amazon said. When the generic product was bought from the Amazon site, the counterfeit Love bracelet bearing the Cartier trademarks was shipped to the buyer.

Cartier’s iconic Love bracelet was first introduced as part of the French luxury goods maker’s Love collection in 1969. Photo: Handout

The Chinese social media influencer used the handle “Phmn9y3v” on Instagram, while the eight businesses were found to be registered and operating in various cities on the mainland, including e-commerce hubs Shantou and Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province, and Jinhua in eastern Zhejiang province, which is known for its small commodities wholesale market.

These defendants in Amazon and Cartier’s joint lawsuits could not be reached. The social media and Amazon accounts mentioned in the lawsuits were found to have been deleted as of Wednesday.

“By using social media to promote counterfeit products, bad actors undermine trust and mislead customers,” said Kebharu Smith, associate general counsel and director of the Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit.

“Amazon will keep investing and innovating to stay ahead of counterfeiters, and working with brands and law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable,” Smith said. We don’t just want to chase them away from Amazon – we want to stop them for good.”

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The lawsuits reflect more signs of trouble for the “made in China, sold on Amazon” community, following the US e-commerce firm’s extensive crackdown that has removed thousands of Chinese sellers from the platform since last year.

Amazon has been targeting merchants found to be engaged in questionable practices, such as offering gift cards to customers in exchange for positive reviews of their purchases – a common practice in China that goes against the US platform’s policies.

Despite its crackdown on paid reviews and other violations, Amazon said in January that the “made in China, sold on Amazon” community continued to grow in 2021. The number of Chinese sellers that achieved US$1 million in sales or more jumped 50 per cent year on year in 2021, and among that group, merchants reaching the milestone for the first time increased over 20 per cent.

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Amazon’s marketplace has long been plagued with fakes, which has concerned various big-name brands. Most online merchants, many of them small businesses, rely on Amazon’s algorithms to ferret out fakes before they appear – an automated process that dedicated scammers can dodge.

Luxury Stores, Amazon’s online platform for various luxury brands, was launched for US consumers in September 2020. Cartier, which is owned by Swiss luxury goods holding company Richemont, is currently not present on Luxury Stores, but its products are available on Amazon via distributors.

In mainland China, updates to the country’s E-commerce Law impose harsher punishments for selling fake products online.

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