U.S. Reps. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Martha Roby (R-AL) aim to help American consumers and businesses fight the online sales of counterfeit products.
“Counterfeit products pose a significant threat to companies and consumers,” said Rep. Collins, ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. “Companies should have confidence that their trademarks will be protected and consumers should have confidence that they are purchasing authentic and safe products. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case in the online world.”
Reps. Roby and Collins led a June 4 roundtable event to discuss how to combat the problem and help companies voluntarily develop best practices to protect trademarks and consumers. Among the company executives who participated were representatives from Amazon, eBay, Home Depot, Nike and several other companies.
“Counterfeits negatively impact consumers, brands and marketplaces by hurting confidence in the products we purchase and by posing a public health risk,” said Rep. Roby, ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Rep. Collins said the roundtable discussion offered companies and online platforms “the chance to come together to protect consumers and promote innovation by safeguarding Americans’ intellectual property.”
Commonplace counterfeit products contain the trademark of the legitimate product, according to information provided by the Judiciary Committee, which noted that American consumers then often mistakenly purchase such products thinking they are buying the original product at a discounted price.
Consequently, such trademark infringement means that the original manufacturer is losing sales while consumers buy products that have not undergone safety and compliance tests, the committee said.