Trump Organization Sues Amazon, Walmart, eBay Sellers For Marketing 'Inferior Imitations' Of Trump Merch
Trump Organization has filed a lawsuit against several unnamed merchandise sellers on popular marketplaces for allegedly marketing counterfeit Trump-branded products.
What Happened: The Trump Organization, owned by President Donald Trump, has accused multiple online sellers, including retail giants like Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), of selling “inferior imitations” of Trump-branded merchandise, reported Fortune. The lawsuit was filed in a U.S. District Court in Florida on Friday.
Around 9,000 Amazon sellers earned nearly $140 million from Trump merchandise sales in the months before the election, per Omnisend data.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of “improperly advertising, marketing, and/or selling unauthorized and illegal products infringing upon at least a portion of plaintiffs' Trump trademarks.” The decision by the Trump Organization to sue these sellers has sparked controversy among legal experts due to its choice of a Schedule A case.
Schedule A cases have become popular among trademark lawyers as they permit the plaintiff to sue a broad range of defendants without naming specific entities, often bypassing costly filing fees. This approach also grants considerable power to the judge’s discretion.
Legal experts have voiced concerns that Schedule A's broad grouping of defendants could lead to smaller vendors being penalized similarly to large-scale operations. Sarah Fackrell, an intellectual property law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, warned about due process issues and the risk of defendants being "railroaded."
Why It Matters: This lawsuit comes at a time when the Trump brand is expanding its global presence. Earlier this month, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT) launched its TV streaming service, Truth+, worldwide. The company also operates the Truth Social social media platform.
In June, Donald Trump Jr., the executive vice president of The Trump Organization, defended his father's financial gains from a family-owned cryptocurrency company, stating that "he doesn't touch it." This followed the disclosure of a $57.7 million income from World Liberty Financial.
In April, Donald Trump’s online store began selling merchandise branded with "Trump 2028," despite the constitutional prohibition on a third term presidency. This move raised eyebrows and sparked debates about the family’s future political plans.
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