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3
AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION
4

5
AMAZON.COM, INC., a Delaware
6 corporation, No. ____________________

7 Claimant,

8 v.

9 AROBO TRADE, INC.,

10 Respondent.

11
AMAZON.COM, INC.’S DEMAND FOR
12 ARBITRATION
13 Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), for its demand for arbitration, states as follows:
14
I. SUMMARY
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1. Each day, millions of consumers use Amazon’s website to assist with their
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purchasing decisions. In order to make those decisions more informed, Amazon provides
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customer reviews of products and services available on Amazon.com. Amazon pioneered
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customer reviews 20 years ago and is now home to hundreds of millions of unique
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reviews. Reviews provide a forum for sharing authentic feedback about products and
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services—positive or negative. Amazon does not remove reviews because they are
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critical of products; Amazon believes all helpful information can inform its customers’
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buying decisions. Whether positive, negative, or anywhere in between, Amazon takes the
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credibility of its customer reviews very seriously.
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2. A very small minority of sellers attempt to gain an unfair competitive
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advantage by creating false, misleading, and inauthentic customer reviews for their

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1 products on Amazon.com. While small in number, these reviews threaten to undermine
2 the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in
3 Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon’s brand. Amazon strictly prohibits any attempt to
4 manipulate customer reviews and actively polices its website to remove false, misleading,
5 and inauthentic reviews. Despite substantial efforts to stamp out the practice, a small
6 number of bad actors continue to endeavor to utilize inauthentic reviews to boost their
7 sales.
8 3. Since the beginning of 2015, Amazon has filed lawsuits against over 1,000
9 respondents who offered to post fake reviews in exchange for payment. Through these
10 efforts, as well as analysis of Amazon’s own data, Amazon has identified sellers who have
11 paid for fake reviews and taken enforcement action against those sellers such as
12 suspending or blocking their accounts. This demand for arbitration is a continuation of
13 those actions and is intended to eliminate the incentives for sellers to engage in abuse.
14 4. Respondent has engaged in an extensive and concerted effort to mislead
15 Amazon’s customers and to manipulate customer reviews for his products. Respondent
16 has knowingly violated Amazon’s rules for seller behavior, and has used deception and
17 artifice in an attempt to circumvent Amazon’s investigative and enforcement efforts, by
18 creating multiple customer accounts and posting fake reviews.
19 5. Respondent’s deceptive conduct has damaged Amazon, Amazon’s
20 customers, and the many honest sellers who use Amazon’s marketplace. This damage
21 will continue unless Respondent is immediately and permanently enjoined from using
22 Amazon’s website, in any fashion whatsoever.
23 6. In this proceeding, Amazon brings claims for violations of §43 of the
24 Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1125(a) (Unfair Competition/False Advertising); violations of
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1 the Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW Ch. 19.86); and breach of contract and
2 violation of Washington common law.
3 II. THE PARTIES
4 7. Amazon is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in
5 Seattle, Washington. Amazon owns and operates the Amazon.com website, and
6 equivalent international websites. Amazon has more than two hundred and fifty million
7 active customers.
8 8. Respondent Arobo Trade Inc., aka Aumax Direct, aka Aumax Corp.
9 (“Arobo Trade”), is a Delaware corporation with a registered agent in San Carlos,
10 California. Respondent is the owner and operator of, and is responsible for the actions of,
11 Amazon seller “Arobo Trade INC/Aumax Direct” (“Amazon Seller Arobo Trade”).
12 9. Respondent has agreed that any dispute with Amazon will be resolved by
13 binding arbitration conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its
14 rules. A true and correct copy of the applicable agreement is attached hereto.
15 III. AMAZON’S PRODUCT REVIEW SYSTEM
16 10. Amazon encourages its customers to review products and services
17 available on its websites. These reviews are made available on the detail pages of those
18 products and services. Consumers rely on this customer feedback to make informed
19 purchasing decisions. Customers trust that these reviews will be honest, helpful, and
20 authentic.
21 11. Each product review comprises the reviewer’s textual comments and a
22 “star rating” that ranges from one star to five stars. Amazon compiles these product
23 reviews, summarizes the compiled star ratings, and publishes those results alongside the
24 advertised product for shoppers to see.
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1 12. Amazon takes the integrity of its customer reviews very seriously.
2 Amazon has developed sophisticated technologies and protocols to detect and remove
3 false, misleading, and inauthentic reviews from its website. Amazon scours its site for
4 fake reviews, removes them when it finds them, and suspends sellers that post or purchase
5 fake reviews.
6 13. To become a seller on Amazon.com, an applicant must, among other
7 things, agree to Amazon’s “Business Solutions Agreement,” in which an applicant
8 commits to abide by Seller policies and guidelines. Among those policies is Amazon’s
9 policy entitled “Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions,” which were established to
10 maintain a marketplace that is safe for Amazon’s customers and fair to sellers of both
11 products and services.
12 14. Sellers are strictly prohibited from undertaking any of the following
13 activities:
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a. Misuse of ratings and feedback or reviews: Any attempt to manipulate
15 ratings, feedback, or reviews is prohibited.

16 b. Reviews: Reviews are important to the Amazon Marketplace, providing a


forum for feedback about product and service details and reviewers’
17 experiences with products and services—positive or negative. You may not
18 write reviews for products or services that you have a financial interest in,
including reviews for products or services that you or your competitors
19 sell. Additionally, you may not provide compensation for a review other
than a free or discounted copy of the product. If you offer a free or
20 discounted product, it must be clear that you are soliciting an unbiased
review. The free or discounted product must be provided in advance. No
21 refunds are permitted after the review is written. You may not intentionally
22 manipulate your products’ rankings, including by offering an excessive
number of free or discounted products, in exchange for a review. Review
23 solicitations that ask for only positive reviews or that offer compensation
are prohibited. You may not ask buyers to remove negative reviews.
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c. Misuse of sales rank: The best seller rank feature allows buyers to evaluate
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the popularity of a product. You may not solicit or knowingly accept fake

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1 or fraudulent orders. This includes placing orders for your own products.
You may not provide compensation to buyers for purchasing your products
2 or provide claim codes to buyers for the purpose of inflating sales rank.

3 15. Sellers are clearly advised that failure to comply with the terms of the

4 Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions policy can result in cancellation of listings,

5 withholding of payments, and suspension or termination of selling privileges.

6
IV. RESPONDENT’S ILLEGAL ACTS
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16. In or around August 2014, Respondent registered as an Amazon seller,
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using seller name “Arobo Trade INC/Aumax Direct.”
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17. Since that time, Respondent has created or caused to be created fake
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reviews for his product. For example, on a sample of 11 ASINs with abuse linked to
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Amazon Seller Arobo Trade, 1,269 out of 2,343 reviews were abusive (54%).
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18. At all times, Respondent knew that Amazon’s policies prohibited these
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activities, and knew and intended that his activities would lead to an increase in sales at
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the expense of Amazon’s customers. The result of these intentional efforts is the
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deception of Amazon’s customers and unfair competition with sellers on Amazon’s
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marketplace.
17
FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
18 Federal Unfair Competition (Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a))
19 19. Amazon incorporates by reference the allegations of each and every one of
20 the preceding paragraphs as though fully set forth herein.
21 20. Respondent made false and misleading statements of fact in the
22 commercial advertisement of his products.
23 21. Those statements deceived or had the capacity to deceive a substantial
24 segment of potential consumers.
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1 22. The deception was material, in that it was likely to influence consumers’
2 purchasing decisions.
3 23. Respondent’s acts constitute willful false statements in connection with
4 products and/or services distributed in interstate commerce, in violation of section 43(a) of
5 the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
6 24. Respondent’s acts have caused irreparable injury to Amazon. The injury to
7 Amazon is and continues to be ongoing and irreparable. An award of monetary damages
8 alone cannot fully compensate Amazon for its injuries and Amazon lacks an adequate
9 remedy at law.
10 25. Amazon is entitled to an injunction against Respondent, as well as all other
11 remedies available under the Lanham Act, including, but not limited to, compensatory
12 damages, treble damages, disgorgement of profits, and costs and attorneys’ fees.
13
SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
14 Breach of Contract

15 26. Amazon incorporates by reference the allegations of each and every one of

16 the preceding paragraphs as though fully set forth herein.

17 27. Respondent established one or more Amazon seller accounts and has

18 agreed to Amazon’s Business Solutions Agreement.

19 28. Respondent’s actions constitute material breaches of his contractual

20 obligations to Amazon, as a result of which Amazon has been damaged in an amount to be

21 proven at trial.

22 29. Respondent’s acts have caused irreparable injury to Amazon. The injury to

23 Amazon is and continues to be ongoing and irreparable. An award of monetary damages

24 alone cannot fully compensate Amazon for its injuries and Amazon lacks an adequate

25 remedy at law. Amazon is entitled to an injunction against Respondent.

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1 THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF
Consumer Protection Act (R.C.W. Ch. 19.86)
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30. Amazon incorporates by reference the allegations of each and every one of
3
the preceding paragraphs as though fully set forth herein.
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31. Respondent has engaged in unfair and deceptive acts and practices
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occurring in trade or commerce in violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act,
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R.C.W. Ch. 19.86.
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32. Respondent’s actions were injurious to the public interest. The acts were
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committed in the course of Respondent’s business, and caused the public dissemination of
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false consumer reviews and other false information designed to deceive consumers using
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Amazon.com. Respondent’s acts had the capacity to harm consumers and sellers on
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Amazon’s marketplace.
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33. Respondent’s unfair and deceptive business practices have unjustly harmed
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Amazon and are causing Amazon to suffer damages.
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34. Amazon is entitled to treble damages and attorneys fees, pursuant to
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R.C.W. 19.86.090.
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35. As a result of such unfair and deceptive acts and practices, Amazon has
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also suffered irreparable injury and, unless Respondent is enjoined from such unfair
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competition, will continue to suffer irreparable injury, whereby Amazon has no adequate
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remedy at law.
20
FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
21 Unjust Enrichment/Restitution
22 36. Amazon incorporates by reference the allegations of each and every one of

23 the preceding paragraphs as though fully set forth herein.

24 37. Respondent unjustly received benefits at Amazon’s expense through his

25 wrongful conduct, including his unfair business practices. Respondent continues to

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1 unjustly retain these benefits at Amazon’s expense. It would be unjust for Respondent to
2 retain any value he obtained as a result of his wrongful conduct.
3 38. Amazon is entitled to the establishment of a constructive trust consisting of
4 the benefit conferred upon Respondent by the revenues derived from his wrongful conduct
5 at Amazon’s expense, and all profits derived from that wrongful conduct. Amazon is
6 further entitled to full restitution of all amounts in which Respondent has been unjustly
7 enriched at Amazon’s expense.
8 REQUESTED HEARING LOCATION
9 39. Amazon respectfully requests a hearing in Seattle, Washington, or at
10 another mutually agreed location.
11
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
12
WHEREFORE, Amazon respectfully requests as follows:
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1. That the Arbitrator issue permanent and injunctive relief against
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Respondent and that Respondent, his officers, agents, representatives, servants,
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employees, attorneys, successors and assigns, and all others in active concert or
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participation with Respondent be enjoined from:
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(a) selling products on any of Amazon’s websites;
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(b) opening any Amazon accounts;
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(c) accessing Amazon’s services in any manner whatsoever; and
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(d) assisting, aiding or abetting any other person or business entity in
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engaging or performing any of the activities referred to in subparagraphs (a)
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through (c) above.
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2. That the Arbitrator enter an Order declaring that Respondent hold in trust,
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as constructive trustees for the benefit of Amazon, his illegal profits gained from the sale
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of products on Amazon.com.

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1 3. That the Arbitrator enter an Order instructing Respondent to pay Amazon’s
2 general, special, actual and statutory damages, including treble damages pursuant to
3 R.C.W. Ch. 19.86, in an amount that is estimated to exceed $25,000;
4 4. That the Arbitrator Order Respondent to pay Amazon both the cost of this
5 action and attorneys’ fees incurred in prosecuting this action; and
6 5. That the Arbitrator grant Amazon such additional and further relief as is
7 just and proper.
8
DATED this 25th day of October, 2016.
9
K&L GATES LLP
10

11 By /s/ David A. Bateman


David A. Bateman, WSBA # 14262
12 Joanne M. Hepburn, WSBA # 32841
Raina V. Wagner, WSBA # 45701
13
925 Fourth Ave., Suite 2900
14 Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: (206) 623-7580
15 Fax: (206) 623-7022
Email: david.bateman@klgates.com
16 Email: joanne.hepburn@klgates.com
Email: raina.wagner@klgates.com
17
Attorneys for Claimant
18 Amazon.com, Inc.
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