Amazon is being sued by a popular retailer over internet-famous dupes

It’s no secret that the US retail industry has been going through some tough times, causing many companies, especially those in the fashion industry, to report declining profits and cutback prospects.

Americans have changed their mindset by spending more carefully and making more conscious decisions, choosing what gives them more bang for their buck.

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There are almost 262 thousand videos on TikTok with the hashtag #Dupe, in which people promote products that aim to imitate other more expensive items at a fraction of the cost.

In addition, there are more than 5 million TikTok videos with the hashtag #Amazon, many of which include titles like “Skims dupe” or “Lululemon dupe,” referring to products people have found on Amazon that are incredibly similar to other brands.

While it’s a great hack for those who love a good deal, this trend has been driving customers away from the real brands and instead pushing them to buy from mass producers who make their money by stealing brands’ styles and selling similar products.

The Aerie section at an American Eagle Outfitters store in New York, US, Wednesday

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Amazon is being bombarded with false accusations

TikTok users weren’t the first to discover the dupe industry running freely on the Amazon marketplace.

The tech giant has had multiple encounters with brands claiming to have found counterfeit goods replicating their own products, leaving Amazon facing a number of lawsuits.

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In 2016, German shoe brand Birkenstock (BIRK) announced that it would remove all of its products from Amazon’s shopping platform due to the number of third-party Amazon sellers trying to sell look-alikes of its shoes. As of 2017, all Birkenstock products have been removed from Amazon’s Marketplace.

The Mercedes-Benz Group was founded that same year (DDAIF) formerly known as Daimler AG, filed a lawsuit against Amazon for allowing its third-party sellers to sell nearly identical-looking, yet qualitatively flawed, versions of Mercedes-Benz wheels.

Amazon is taking action against knockoffs, but its efforts appear weak

In 2019, Amazon (AMZN) launched a team dedicated solely to helping brands protect their trademarks by taking criminal action against third-party sellers who deliberately sell counterfeit products on their marketplace.

In 2020, Maison Valentino and Amazon filed a joint lawsuit against an Amazon third-party seller for selling counterfeit versions of the Valentino Garavani Rockstud shoes, in violation of Amazon’s policies and Valentino’s intellectual property rights.

“The vast majority of sellers in our store are honest business owners, but we don’t hesitate to take aggressive action to protect customers, brands and our store from counterfeiters,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s Vice President, Customer Trust and Partner Support.

American Eagle files a lawsuit against Amazon for ‘misleading’ shoppers

On Wednesday, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Amazon, alleging that the tech giant infringed on its trademarked brand Aerie.

Aerie is a sub-brand of American Eagle that focuses on intimate apparel, loungewear and activewear.

In the lawsuit, American Eagle accuses Amazon of purposefully misleading its customers by using branding of the Aerie clothing line in Google search results, which then directs shoppers to sponsored ads and store links, which direct them to dupes or counterfeit products that are extremely similar corpses. – look at the brand but lack quality and are sold for a lower price.

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Although Aerie products are not sold on Amazon’s shopping platform, the brand’s gift cards can still be purchased.

The dupes are not Amazon branded products, but rather products sold by multiple third-party Amazon sellers.

Additionally, American Eagle claims it gave Amazon a warning earlier last month before filing the lawsuit, asking it to stop referring customers to Aerie’s counterfeit products.

The Street asked American Eagle for comment on the lawsuit, but they said, “AEO does not comment on any pending litigation.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to The Street’s request for comment.

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