Online retail giant Amazon filed two lawsuits this week against sellers, claiming they put counterfeit goods on its website, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The lawsuits, filed Monday in a Washington state court, represent Amazon's first legal battle against its own third-party sellers over knock off products, according to the report.
One lawsuit targets fake versions of the Forearm Forklist — a strap system allowing users to lift heavy objects. The second lawsuit, filed in conjunction with Fitness Anywhere, focuses on counterfeit versions of the exercise company's workout products.
While Amazon's growth is largely fueled by inclusion of these third party sellers, the system has brought more counterfeit products to the online marketplace, causing customer complaints and rifts with the companies behind the brand-name products, reports WSJ.
"When customers purchase counterfeit goods, it undermines the trust that customers, sellers and manufacturers place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon's brand and causing irreparable reputational harm," Amazon wrote in the lawsuits.
Amazon said it spends tens of millions of dollars on technology to identify fake products and a team of employees constantly works to refine its anticounterfeiting program, according to the report.
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