Dead Sea Premier Laboratories claim that Amazon used its designs and pictures to sell “current, out-of-date and simply imitation products” both through unauthorized retailers and the company itself.
The firm claims that by associating its premier cosmetics lines with cheaper imitators, Amazon runs the risk of irreparably damaging the brand’s reputation.
This suit alleges that Amazon also failed to take action to remove the infringing content and products from its web site when requested to do so by Premier.
Guy Ophir, an attorney representing Premier, told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com: "The use of Premier's trademark and copyrights on Amazon is being done in several ways. Amazon is using many photos taken by Premier, who holds the copyrights to the photos."
"This is being done without Premier's knowledge or approval. Amazon also uses premier's official name "Dead Sea Premier" or "Premier Dead Sea", a registered trademark, without permission."
Lawsuit
A major claim from the lawsuit is that running a search on Amazon’s website for one of Premier’s brands also produces many similar results which are not actually the products of the plaintiff, a situation which is likely to mislead potential purchasers.
This sometimes also results in unauthorized products being sold under Dead Sea Premier's name.
Ophir commented: "Misleading the public to believe that a specific retailer is an official one selling directly from Premier, results in that the customer receives a defective product, eventually harming Premier's reputation."
Cease and desist order
Premier is requesting that Amazon ceases and desists from allowing this to take place. In addition, they are asking for provisional compensation of US$168,000 from Amazon.
The company is also requesting a full review by the court to discover how much the retailer has profited from misusing their trademark.
Premier has recently attempted to regain control of its US-based retailing, a problem exacerbated by the company having fired its current distributor earlier in the year.
Premier make extensive use of the supposed healing properties of the region in their products, including minerals and salts extracted from the water and mud of the Dead Sea.
The company’s Precise range also uses a process by which active ingredients are separated from cream, which is said to preserve their effectiveness much more effectively because it prevents oxidation from the air and substances in the cream.