SEATTLE (BRAIN) — A suit filed by Amazon and UL against five e-bike and e-scooter companies for allegedly falsely claiming their e-bikes and scooters were UL-certified has ended in a court order barring the companies from doing it anymore.
U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead of the U.S. District Court for Western Washington in Seattle signed a consent judgment and permanent injunction on Monday. It resolves the claims of trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement and false designation of origin in favor of Amazon and UL and dismisses other claims with prejudice.
The injunction bars the companies from "importing, manufacturing, producing, distributing, circulating, offering to sell, promoting, or displaying any product or service using any simulation, reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of UL’s certification marks or service marks, or which otherwise infringes UL’s intellectual property, in any store or in any medium"
It also bars the companies from aiding any other person or business doing the same. The settlement calls for each side to pay their own legal fees and costs.
The retailer and the testing company filed suit Jan. 23 against three Chinese companies, one Hong Kong-based company and one individual in the counterfeit and trademark infringement case.
“As a result of their illegal actions, defendants have infringed and misused UL’s IP; breached their contracts with Amazon; willfully deceived and harmed Amazon, UL, and their customers; compromised the integrity of the Amazon Store; and undermined the trust that customers place in Amazon and UL,” according to the complaint.
The defendants were Jiangmen Meijiasheng Bicycle Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen Aibosi Sport Technology Co., Ltd.; and Guangzhou Aierfeile Sport Technology Co., LTD., all of China; and Hong Kong Manchester International Trading Co., LTD., of Hong Kong and Tang Shuhui, an individual.
The complaint listed seven specific models that were offered for sale on Amazon, under the Aipas and A4 brands. The suit also alleged some of the models that improperly bear the UL trademarks have been sold on aipasbike.com.
