Amazon tag-teams with WWE in authorized bouts over bogus belts

Real or fake?

That age-old question for professional wrestling is taking a different turn in a series of lawsuits filed this week by Amazon and World Wrestling Entertainment over the alleged listing of counterfeit replica WWE wrestling belts by third-party sellers on the e-commerce giant’s online marketplace.

Amazon and WWE filed nine lawsuits against 13 defendants Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. In addition, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey filed felony counterfeiting charges against two people associated with one of the cases, the companies said in a news release.

It’s the latest in a series of efforts by Amazon to crack down on counterfeit products. The civil complaints double as a public-relations campaign, providing extensive background on Amazon’s efforts to fight counterfeits, including its Project Zero initiative, Brand Registry program and Transparency initiative.

The company has been fighting the perception that its third-party marketplace is a “flea market of fakes,” as the Washington Post put it in 2019.

Amazon filed past suits in conjunction with brands including Valentino, Weber grills, cosmetics brand KF Beauty, family travel accessory brand JL Childress, and drinkware and accessory maker YETI, in addition to smaller family-run businesses.

Here are links to the complaints in each of the nine cases.

• 2-22-cv-01205 – Amazon and WWE v. Grato International
• 2-22-cv-01207 – Amazon and WWE v. Superiorleather
• 2-22-cv-01209 – Amazon and WWE v. LonspireSports
• 2-22-cv-01210 – Amazon and WWE v. Sports Cheap Gadgets
• 2-22-cv-01211 – Amazon and WWE v. Regalia Craft PK
• 2-22-cv-01212 – Amazon and WWE v. Maxan International
• 2-22-cv-01214 – Amazon and WWE v. Rizvi Belts and Medals
• 2-22-cv-01215 – Amazon and WWE v. Armchampionshipb
• 2-22-cv-01216 – Amazon and WWE v. HouseOfScotland