Amazon Taps DOJ Prosecutor, Helps 3M, Valentino Fight Fake Goods
Amazon.com, Inc. is turning to a former federal prosecutor to bust counterfeit product sellers, as the online retailer fends off criticism from Congress and potentially costly trademark lawsuits.
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“It would not be possible for any company, even Amazon, to take on every single counterfeiter, but I think the deterrent effect will be meaningful, and also those actions where Amazon gets involved could act as a nice template,” said Matthew Homyk, a partner at Blank Rome who specializes in intellectual property and technology.
Homyk added that the new unit signals the company is heightening its commitment to protecting Amazon’s brand partners and customers from fraud.
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The Amazon-Valentino lawsuit will likely be the first of many future joint cases, Homyk said. Blank Rome has formerly counseled Amazon on legal issues but is not currently involved in any cases.
“It’s particularly interesting that the new program includes folks from the criminal world because most of this has been a civil enforcement effort,” Homyk said, referring to associate general counsel Posa.
Prior to joining Amazon, Posa served as senior counsel in the DOJ’s criminal division, where she focused on computer crime and intellectual property. Homyk said criminal penalties are usually higher than civil ones.
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“Amazon Taps DOJ Prosecutor, Helps 3M, Valentino Fight Fake Goods,” by Ruiqi Chen was published in Bloomberg Law on July 8, 2020.