Updated with additional details and statements from Amazon, Uber and Lyft.
Uber and Lyft are joining forces with Amazon in a lawsuit targeting the alleged sale of counterfeit LED window signs bearing the logos of the rideshare rivals.
The companies sued Gary Hutton of Torrance, Calif., and his company, Huttronics LLC, in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday on claims of trademark infringement, false advertising, and violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act — seeking an injunction and financial damages.
The lawsuit cites potential safety concerns from the sale of the signs.
“Defendants’ unauthorized sale of counterfeit Uber and Lyft signs and decals in the Amazon Store creates a risk that the counterfeit products will be used by bad actors with improper motives, potentially jeopardizing the safety of riders,” the suit says.
GeekWire contacted Hutton for comment on Tuesday morning via his website. When he called back, he said it was the first he’d heard of the suit, and he was initially skeptical that our inquiry was legitimate.
Hutton acknowledged that he used the Uber and Lyft logos on the signs that he sold. Addressing the safety concerns, he said his customers are rideshare and delivery drivers who say the light-up signs improve their own safety, especially at night, making the job they’re doing immediately clear to people around them.
According to the suit, Uber and Lyft both provide decals directly to authorized drivers, prohibit drivers from selling or transferring them, and forbid the use of third-party decals not issued by the companies.
Hutton pointed out that he’s not taking any revenue away from the companies, given that they don’t sell the signs themselves. Hutton said he sold the signs on Amazon in 2018 and 2019, at a time when many other vendors were selling similar signs, before his account was suspended.
He acknowledged that he continued to sell them on his website.
“I’m just one person, a very small business,” he said. “It’s not like I’ve gotten rich off it. It’s just been a big headache.”
According to the lawsuit, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Hutton’s home on May 24, based in part on information provided by Amazon, Uber, and Lyft. The suit says the law enforcement officials seized counterfeit products during the search, and arrested Hutton.
“It was crazy,” he said. “It was like a SWAT team.”
Hutton confirmed the search and arrest, saying he was booked and released on counterfeiting charges, but hasn’t yet been arraigned. He said he overheard officers during the raid discussing the small-time nature of the case and expressing concern that they were wasting time on an inconsequential issue.
Hutton said he no longer plans to sell the signs on his site, which he took down today. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department seized less than 50 signs, he said, noting that he had a few hundred others in warehouses.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of efforts by Amazon to crack down on counterfeit products in the face of criticism that the company let fake merchandise run rampant for too long on its third-party marketplace. Amazon has filed a series of these lawsuits in partnership with brands against alleged counterfeiters.
The civil complaints double as a public-relations campaign, providing extensive background on Amazon’s efforts to fight counterfeits, including its Project Zero initiative, Brand Registry program and Transparency initiative.
The suit against Hutton by Amazon, Uber, and Lyft alleges that his company sold counterfeit Uber and Lyft signs from February 2018 to August 2019 on Amazon.com via a third-party seller account.
Amazon blocked the Huttronics seller account in September 2021 after receiving notice from Uber and Lyft, the suit says.
GeekWire asked Amazon to explain why it had to be notified of the trademark violations given the extensive programs the company has in place to detect counterfeit goods. In response, the company provided this statement.
Amazon has a zero tolerance policy for counterfeit products and collaborated with Uber and Lyft on this joint lawsuit to permanently prevent the defendants from selling counterfeits. We have proactive measures in place to prevent counterfeit products from being listed and continuously monitor our store. If we identify an issue, we act quickly to protect customers and brands, including removing counterfeit listings and blocking accounts. We will continue to collaborate with brands and law enforcement to protect our customers from bad actors attempting to abuse our store.
Uber and Lyft are enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry and Project Zero initiatives.
Lyft and Uber also issued statements about the case.
Lyft statement: “Lyft’s priority is making every Lyft ride as safe as we possibly can and working with Amazon to remove unsanctioned Lyft signage helps protect the platform. The best and most effective way for Lyft riders to ensure they’re getting in the right car is to match the license plate shown, driver name and photo, in the Lyft app with the license plate of the arriving vehicle.”
Uber statement: “While Uber-authorized decals and signage can help riders locate a driver, there is no substitute for the key trip information riders receive in the Uber app. That’s why we encourage riders to always verify the car make and model, license plate number, and the driver name and photo before they get in the car. By partnering with our peers and Amazon to remove illegitimate vehicle signage using the Uber brand, we can help preserve the safety and integrity of our respective platforms.”
Hutton said another of his Amazon accounts, selling unrelated leathercraft products, was also suspended because of its connection through him to the account that had been selling the Uber and Lyft signs. Amazon retained the $7,000 balance in that account, and his lawyer said that seeking the return of the money wouldn’t be worth it, Hutton said.
Amazon says its procedures and technologies are increasingly deterring counterfeiters. As evidence, the company reported in April that it stopped 800,000 attempts to create new selling accounts in 2022 on suspicion of intent to sell counterfeit goods, down from 2.5 million attempts in 2021, and 6 million in 2020.
“Our robust seller verification, including connecting one-on-one with prospective sellers through video chat, coupled with continued advancements in our machine learning-based detection, are deterring bad actors from even attempting to create new Amazon selling accounts,” wrote Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of Worldwide Selling Partner Services, in a post at the time.
