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Nintendo wins $7M judgment in amiibo counterfeiting lawsuit
A Seattle court has awarded Nintendo $7,030,158 as a default judgment against two counterfeit amiibo sellers, per newly filed court documents reviewed by Polygon. Nintendo and Amazon filed a joint lawsuit in October 2023 against a group of counterfeit sellers that allegedly sold fake Nintendo goods. Through the lawsuit, the companies learned the identities of […]
A Seattle court has awarded Nintendo $7,030,158 as a default judgment against two counterfeit amiibo sellers, per newly filed court documents reviewed by Polygon.
Nintendo and Amazon filed a joint lawsuit in October 2023 against a group of counterfeit sellers that allegedly sold fake Nintendo goods. Through the lawsuit, the companies learned the identities of the sellers, but the sellers failed to respond to the lawsuit. Nintendo and Amazon asked the court in early February to issue a default judgment in their favor and to order the sellers to pay more than $7 million in damages related to trademark violations. Seattle district judge Marsha J. Pechman agreed with Nintendo’s assessment of the situation and awarded Nintendo the more than $7 million it asked for. The sellers are also ordered to cease creating then selling counterfeit Nintendo products, or products that otherwise infringe on Nintendo’s trademarks, on Amazon. Amazon shut down the sellers’ accounts before its original complaint was filed in 2023.
“Nintendo utilizes both internal and external resources to combat counterfeit and infringing products,” lawyers wrote in the original complaint. “Nintendo works with a third-party brand protection service vendor on the detection and removal of product listings violating Nintendo’s IP rights that are identified and sold in Amazon’s stores. Nintendo works regularly and collaboratively with Amazon to identify counterfeit Nintendo products and to strengthen automated detection and removal of the products from Amazon’s stores.”
Nintendo and Amazon originally alleged the sellers sold at least $2,343,386 worth of product — a lot of amiibo cards, essentially. “[The] counterfeiting scheme caused harm to Nintendo’s reputation and goodwill, as well as direct financial harm in the form of lost sales,” lawyers wrote in a document trying to convince the court to enter a default judgment in Amazon and Nintendo’s favor, filed in February. Nintendo and Amazon said in that earlier document that statutory damages could technically range from $27,000 to $54,000,000 each, but that $7,030,158 — triple the sales of each seller — was sufficient.
“This amount is conservative and on the low end of the range of damages available for Defendants’ wrongdoing, but it is significant enough to provide deterrence against future counterfeiting conduct,” lawyers wrote in February.
