Epson and Amazon seek multi-million dollar judgment in U.S. court, with HP case adding to growing enforcement trend.
Epson and Amazon have filed for a $7.21 million (€6.58 million) default judgment and permanent injunction against 20 Turkish defendants accused of selling counterfeit Epson ink and toner through Amazon.
The U.S. motion, lodged in the Western District of Washington, alleges at least $1.94 million (€1.77 million) in counterfeit sales via 23 Amazon seller accounts. The defendants are accused of operating a coordinated scheme to import and distribute counterfeit Epson-branded cartridges, bottles and packs bearing five registered Epson trademarks. According to the filing, the counterfeit goods were “inferior quality”, “incorrectly labelled” and “shipped in substandard packaging”, misleading customers into believing they were buying genuine Epson products.
The joint enforcement action began in May 2025, with all defendants served via Turkey’s Central Authority under the Hague Convention, an international treaty governing the service of legal documents across borders. None appeared in court, and a clerk’s entry of default was recorded in May. Epson and Amazon say that without significant financial penalties and an injunction, the sellers are likely to continue infringing under new accounts or aliases.
Epson is seeking $5.81 million (€5.31 million) in statutory damages under the Lanham Act, calculated at three times the counterfeit sales attributed to each defendant. Amazon is claiming $1.39 million (€1.27 million) in actual damages for refunds issued to customers, after deducting any amounts recovered from the sellers’ accounts. The motion argues that the scale of the operation and the deliberate nature of the infringement warrant a substantial damages award to deter future violations.
The case is the latest in a series of joint OEM–Amazon anti-counterfeit actions. In July, Amazon and HP moved for default against U.S. seller Omar Srhir and two HP Supply LLC entities, accusing them of selling counterfeit HP toner cartridges. That filing alleges the defendants were served or waived service in March 2025, engaged in failed settlement talks, and then confirmed they had “no intention” of defending the case. Amazon and HP told the court Srhir’s claims of improper service were “numerous lies”.
Both cases underline an aggressive enforcement trend, with Amazon partnering with OEMs to target high-volume online counterfeit sellers and pursue substantial financial and injunctive remedies.
