Amazon partners with US government to fight counterfeit products
Amazon.com Inc. is teaming up with a government counterfeit watchdog to conduct inspections of suspected counterfeit products at U.S. ports of entry, the company’s latest attempt to excise fake products from its online store.
The world’s largest online retailer is teaming up with the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, a group led by the Department of Homeland Security, “to analyze data and conduct targeted inspections aimed at preventing counterfeit goods from entering the US supply chain, Amazon said. Tuesday in a press release. This initiative is called Operation Fulfilled Action.
Over half of the products for sale on the Amazon site are listed by independent sellers. The adoption of these third-party merchants and a highly automated store means the company is constantly playing with counterfeiters. Amazon’s uneven track record in controlling the plague has deterred customers and brands who might otherwise put more of their products on the site.
The Seattle-based company has been touting its efforts to get rid of bogus products in recent years, announcing the creation earlier this year of its Counterfeit Crime Unit, which supports police investigations. An Amazon spokesperson said that 99.9% of products viewed by customers did not have a valid infringement complaint against them.
