American Eagle sues Amazon over alleged ‘knock-offs’ of Aerie products

Amazon is being sued by American Eagle Outfitters for trademark infringement. The lawsuit claims that Amazon utilized Aerie apparel line logo in search results, directing users to “lower quality knock-offs.”

American Eagle filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Amazon of using the Aerie and Offline by Aerie trademarks “flagrantly, unauthorizedly” on its website in order to trick customers into thinking the products were available there, increase traffic to the platform, and offer rival goods. The Southern District of New York U.S. District Court received the suit.

American Eagle stated that it “deliberately denied so Aerie can cultivate its own brand identity and customer experience,” adding that it did not give Amazon permission to sell items from its Aerie range of yoga pants, lingerie, loungewear, and other clothing. Established in 1977, American Eagle debuted the Aerie line of clothing in 2006.

According to the lawsuit, a customer looking for Aerie products on Google will see both sponsored and organic links that lead to Amazon’s website. Upon clicking a link, one is directed to an Amazon webpage that, according to American Eagle, “displays only knock-offs and ‘dupes'” of Aerie products, such as workout shorts and hoodies. The business claims that after notifying Amazon of the infringing products “almost a month ago,” the products were rebranded with variations of its Aerie trademarks, such as “Aeries,” “Arie,” or “Aries.”

According to the lawsuit, “These advertisements are designed to deceive users into believing that they may “Shop Aerie” or “Save on Offline by Aerie” on the “Official Amazon Site” by clicking the offered link. “These claims are demonstrably untrue, as Aerie items are not available for purchase on Amazon.”

A large number of the purported Aerie knockoffs mentioned in the lawsuit are offered for sale on Amazon by independent merchants. The marketplace, which was introduced in 2000, enables companies to advertise their products on the company website. Over half of all things sold on the platform are sold by its millions of vendors.

For years, Amazon has been subject to similar criticisms. The shoe manufacturer Birkenstock declared in 2016 that it will remove its merchandise from Amazon due to an increase in fake goods. The German carmaker Daimler AG filed a lawsuit against Amazon in that same year after learning that a third-party vendor was selling fake Mercedes-Benz wheels.

2019 saw Amazon include a note alerting investors to the growing threat posed by third-party sellers selling counterfeit goods in the “risk factors” section of its annual financial report. Since then, the business has increased the amount of effort it puts into monitoring counterfeit products on its website. It has done this by forming a team to take criminal action against counterfeiters, filing lawsuits, and releasing tools to assist firms in safeguarding their trademarks.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by Amazon personnel. The business has already declared that it forbids the selling of fake goods on its website.

Because Amazon is allegedly infringing on American Eagle’s trademark, the company is requesting an injunction and monetary damages.