An adviser to
Europe’s top court has recently said that Amazon, the US online retail giant is
not liable for unconsciously stocking products causing Trademark Infringement for third-party sellers, but should be careful
in checking whether the products are legal or not.
The adviser gave his
opinion on a case pitting Amazon against the US cosmetics firm Coty. The
dispute reflects one of the many battles amid online platforms like Amazon,
eBay, etc., fighting against online business barriers and luxury products firms
seeking to preserve their branding and exclusivity. The opinion from Manuel
Campos Sanchez-Bordona, the advocate general at the Court of Justice of the
European Union (CJEU), came in response to a case concerning Coty’s German
subsidiary. It is the subsidiary that took Amazon to a German court for
stocking its Davidoff perfume for third-party sellers.
Coty said that such
practices infringe on its trademark rights, and Amazon should be responsible
for stocking trademark infringing products.
Campos
Sanchez-Bordona said that the companies, which are unaware of trademark
infringements, cannot be held liable for storing such products for third-party
sellers. He also raises the question of the online platforms’ responsibility
for the content transmitted or products sold on their sites. He even said that
if the firms actively participate in disseminating the products and operate
schemes like Amazon’s, then they must show diligence in checking the legality
of products advertised or sold on their platforms.
Amazon’s Scheme
The US online retail
giant under its scheme known as “Fulfilled by Amazon” stores and delivers
products for third-party sellers and this is one of the main features of its
whole business model.
Campos
Sanchez-Bordona continued by saying that the companies should be aware that
they cannot absolve themselves of responsibility. They must understand that
without this control, their platforms can serve as a channel for advertisement
and sale of counterfeit, stolen, illegal, or unethical products.
Amazon, in regards
to this, said that it made efforts to combat fake products on its platform. The
company added that they continuously invest heavily in battling against bad
actors and are committed to turning counterfeits to zero on their platform.
Moreover, courts have ruled in their favor in the first two instances of this
action, and they are now expecting preliminary legal clarification from the
CJEU.
Nonetheless, Coty
did not immediately respond to the request, but the Luxembourg-based court,
which looks in the majority of cases related to such non-binding
recommendations, would normally provide a verdict in the next two to four
months. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com
Don’t forget to
follow us on social media:
Contact - US
Website:
www.trademarkmaldives.com
No comments:
Post a Comment