Amazon and GoPro have filed a joint lawsuit against counterfeiters who were selling knockoff GoPro accessories via the Amazon storefront.

The suit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington accuses seven individuals and two companies, including one called “Pengyu Building Materials”, of making fake GoPro camera accessories – including the Handler floating hand grip, 3-Way grip, extension arm, and tripod mount – and selling them via Amazon.

According to Kebharu Smith, Director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, the defendants were using GoPro’s registered trademarks without permission in order to hoodwink customers into thinking they were affiliated with the camera manufacturer; Amazon has closed the defendants’ seller accounts and refunded impacted customers.

“When counterfeiters attempt to sell in our store, they not only violate the intellectual property rights of companies like GoPro, they also mislead consumers and harm Amazon’s reputation as a place to buy authentic goods,” said Smith.

Amazon launched its Counterfeit Crimes Unit last year, and says in 2020 alone it invested more than $700 million USD and employed more than 10,000 staff to protect its storefront from counterfeits, fraud, and other abuse.