Amazon, Cartier File Suits Seeking to Crack Down on Chinese Counterfeits

Amazon and Cartier filed two cases in a Washington state district court on June 15 accusing a Chinese influencer and a spate of Chinese companies of selling knock-off Cartier jewelry on Amazon's website. According to the one of the complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, a Handan, China-based woman used social media sites like Instagram to sell knockoff Cartier jewelry such as bracelets marketed as "Love bracelets." The influencer goes by the username "Phmn9y3v."

The companies aiding in the scheme were linked back to Handan and other Chinese cities, the complaints said. The knock-off selling scheme allegedly sought to evade detection by having the influencer say the items were made by Cartier, but then the vendors themselves failed to list Cartier on their Amazon pages. One lawsuit targets the influencers and the vendors, while the other accuses an Amazon store under the name "YFXF" of selling knockoff Cartier goods, disguising the jewelry as unbranded online but sending customers knock-off goods with the company's trademark.

"As a result of their illegal actions, Defendants have infringed and misused Cartier’s IP, willfully deceived and harmed Amazon, Cartier, and their customers, compromised the integrity of the Amazon Store, and undermined the trust that customers place in Amazon and Cartier," one of the briefs said. "Defendants’ illegal actions have caused Amazon and Cartier to expend significant resources to investigate and combat Defendants’ wrongdoing and to bring this lawsuit to prevent Defendants from inflicting future harm to Amazon, Cartier, and their customers."

(Amazon.com v. An individual d/b/a PHMN9Y3V, W.D. Wash. # 22-00840) (Amazon.com v. An individual or entity d/b/a the following Amazon Selling Account: YFXF, W.D. Wash. # 22-00841)