Sony Sues eBay Seller Over Alleged Counterfeit PS5 Accessories, Including $90 Carry Case, Asking for $2 Million for 'Each and Every Use of the PlayStation Trademark'

Sony is suing an eBay seller for allegedly selling counterfeit PS5 accessories, requesting up to $2 cardinal for "each and each usage of the PlayStation Trademarks."

In tribunal papers filed connected October 24 and seen by The Game Post, Sony is suing the eBay relationship known arsenic "zaocuand-002" for alleged trademark infringement and counterfeiting. The papers person been filed successful the authorities of Illinois.

Sony claims the seller "directly targets concern activities towards consumers successful the United States" via a "fully interactive" online store that uses Sony's trademarks to merchantability "unauthorized products." One specified merchandise cited successful the papers is simply a $90 carrying lawsuit for PS5, though close now, zaocuand-002's eBay store is "sold out," and nary of its existent auctions see immoderate gaming accessories. However, the illustration states the relationship has sold astir 9,000 items and is followed by 555 people.

A screenshot of a anterior auction selling the carrying lawsuit is included successful the tribunal papers.

IMAGE CREDIT: THE GAME POST. EBAY AUCTION SHOWING THE SALE OF A PS5 STORAGE BAG.

"Defendant created an e-commerce store operating nether astatine slightest the Seller Alias that is advertising, offering for sale, and selling Unauthorized Products to unknowing consumers," Sony's lawyers wrote. "Defendant attempts to debar and mitigate liability by operating nether astatine slightest the Seller Alias to conceal some its individuality and the afloat scope and interworking of its counterfeiting operation.

"On accusation and belief, Defendant resides and/or operates successful the People’s Republic of China oregon different overseas jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems oregon redistribute products from the aforesaid oregon akin sources successful those locations."

Sony is suing for $2 cardinal for "each and each usage of the PlayStation Trademarks." It's besides calling for an injunction to forestall the seller from "displaying immoderate advertisements utilized by oregon associated with Defendant successful transportation with the merchantability of counterfeit and infringing goods utilizing the PlayStation Trademarks."

This isn't the archetypal clip Sony's taken purpose astatine a third-party accessory seller. Following a cease and desist missive from Sony successful 2021, Canadian peripherals institution Dbrand announced it had been forced to propulsion its scope of PS5 faceplates from its store (and conscionable 3 days later, the institution released its ain archetypal plan scope of faceplates for the console).

That aforesaid year, Customize My Plates besides announced that it had cancelled each income of custom-created PS5 plates, and would not beryllium selling PS5 plates successful immoderate capacity, owed to unit from Sony. The institution yet patented the PlayStation 5's faceplates aft threatening a fig of different companies with ineligible enactment implicit making them.

The megacorp is besides suing Tencent, of course, implicit its "slavish clone" of the Horizon games, Light of Motiram. Sony accused Tencent of processing a "knock-off crippled [of Horizon Zero Dawn] truthful blatant that the nationalist loudly decried the evident and pervasive copying of Horizon’s protected elements," claiming the merchandise of Light of Motiram "jeopardizes Horizon's continued success, including existent enlargement plans for the franchise."

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.