WWE & Amazon file lawsuit against counterfeit title belt merchants

[Big Red Machine]

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/wwe- ... -merchants

The suit has been filed against 13 defendants.

Ian Carey
3 hours ago


WWE and Amazon have announced a joint lawsuit against merchants of counterfeit championship belts.

The suit names 13 defendants who allegedly attempted to "market and sell inauthentic replicas of WWE-branded championship title belts in Amazon’s store."

WWE has been working with Amazon's Project Zero and Brand Registry protection tools to detect listings for counterfeit title belts sold in Amazon's store. Amazon removed the listings and WWE then worked with the company's Counterfeit Crimes Unit to identify those responsible.

WWE's press release makes specific mention of one defendant found to be operating out of New Jersey. In addition to the civil lawsuit, two connected individuals are also facing felony counterfeiting charges for the sale of inauthentic WWE title belts. WWE also worked with Middlesex County law enforcement to identify those individuals.

“Amazon is the benchmark for collaboration with respect to brand infringement online,” said Vice President of Intellectual Property at WWE, Matthew Winterroth. “Official and licensed WWE products, branded by our IP, are trusted by our fans around the world and we go to great lengths to protect consumers from counterfeits and other types of infringements. It’s our hope that other companies look at Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit as a model of how to partner with companies of any size to help combat this relentless threat.”

“Amazon is committed to the authenticity of products in our store and protecting our customers from all forms of counterfeits, including those impacting fans of iconic entertainment brand WWE,” said Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit. “We will continue to work with WWE and Middlesex County law enforcement to bring these bad actors to justice.”