Online fake goods probe

AMAZON has partnered with the US government’s counterfeit watchdog to launch a joint operation to prevent fake goods from entering the country.

Amazon’s joint operation with the US government’s National Intellectual Property Rights Co- ordination Centre ( IPR Center) will analyse data and conduct inspections at US ports of entry to prevent counterfeit products entering the country’s supply chain, the e- commerce giant said on Tuesday.

“This joint operation is our latest public- private initiative bringing us one step closer to border security,” IPR Center director Steve Francis said.

Amazon said it conducted investigations if the company suspected a product may be counterfeit.

“But we also know that counterfeiters don't just attempt to offer their wares in one store, they attempt to offer them in multiple places,” said Dharmesh Mehta of Amazon.

“Now, by combining intelligence from Amazon, the IPR Center and other agencies, we’re able to stop counterfeits at the border, regardless of where bad actors were intending to offer them.”

The IPR Center and Amazon will leverage evidence obtained during the operation to expand investigations, with the goal of holding bad actors accountable to the full extent of the law.

This operation will be led by Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, which was created earlier this year to support law enforcement investigations and to initiate civil litigation against counterfeiters.

Amazon said it had invested more than $ 500 million ( about R7.6 billion) last year alone to protect its store and customers from fraud and abuse.