Can’t Buy Me Love? Amazon Sues to Block Purchased 5 Star Reviews

As we reported on Monday, Amazon.com is apparently none too happy with a person or persons that runs handful of websites with names like “buyamazonreviews.com” that offer to give glowing reviews of sellers’  products on Amazon for a price.  We have a few more thoughts on this matter. On April 8th, Amazon filed a lawsuit against the websites’ owner or owners  in Washington state court. Amazon calls the of buying and selling of reviews an “unhealthy ecosystem” that is damaging its brand.

The complaint filed in King County Superior Court names an individual named Jay Gentile as the operator of buyazonreviews.com.  Amazon also asserted claims against a John Doe defendant since it does not know who is operating buyamazonreviews.com, bayreviews.net and buyreviewsnow.com. Amazon wants the court to shut the websites down for trademark infringement, unfair competition and violation of the Consumer Protection Act.  The complaint also seeks an injunction to stoping  the selling fake reviews and an order requiring the sites to identify each Amazon review created in exchange for payment.

Amazon expressly prohibits paid reviews and threatens to suspend sellers that buy fake reviews. According to the complaint:

[the] Defendants are misleading Amazon’s customers and tarnishing Amazon’s brand for their own profit and the profit of a handful of dishonest sellers and manufacturers…Amazon is bringing this action to protect its customers from this misconduct, by stopping Defendants and disrupting the marketplace in which they participate.”

Although there’s no way of knowing which products have reviews that may have been purchased form one of these website.  However, this review seems to be a very likely candidate as it appears to have been written by J. Peterman.