Sony is suing an eBay seller for allegedly selling counterfeit PS5 accessories, requesting up to $2 million for “each and every use of the PlayStation Trademarks.”
In court papers filed on October 24 and seen by The Game Post, Sony is suing the eBay account known as “zaocuand-002” for alleged trademark infringement and counterfeiting. The papers have been filed in the state of Illinois.
Sony claims the seller “directly targets business activities towards consumers in the United States” via a “fully interactive” online store that uses Sony’s trademarks to sell “unauthorized products.” One such product cited in the papers is a $90 carrying case for PS5, although right now, zaocuand-002‘s eBay store is “sold out,” and none of its current auctions include any gaming accessories. However, the profile states the account has sold around 9,000 items and is followed by 555 people.
A screenshot of a prior auction selling the carrying case is included in the court papers.
“Defendant created an e-commerce store operating under at least the Seller Alias that is advertising, offering for sale, and selling Unauthorized Products to unknowing consumers,” Sony’s lawyers wrote. “Defendant attempts to avoid and mitigate liability by operating under at least the Seller Alias to conceal both its identity and the full scope and interworking of its counterfeiting operation.
“On information and belief, Defendant resides and/or operates in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems or redistribute products from the same or similar sources in those locations.”
Sony is suing for $2 million for “each and every use of the PlayStation Trademarks.” It’s also calling for an injunction to prevent the seller from “displaying any advertisements used by or associated with Defendant in connection with the sale of counterfeit and infringing goods using the PlayStation Trademarks.”
This isn’t the first time Sony’s taken aim at a third-party accessory seller. Following a cease and desist letter from Sony in 2021, Canadian peripherals company Dbrand announced it had been forced to pull its range of PS5 faceplates from its store (and just three days later, the company released its own original design range of faceplates for the console).
That same year, Customize My Plates also announced that it had cancelled all sales of custom-created PS5 plates, and would not be selling PS5 plates in any capacity, due to pressure from Sony. The company eventually patented the PlayStation 5’s faceplates after threatening a number of other companies with legal action over making them.
The megacorp is also suing Tencent, of course, over its “slavish clone” of the Horizon games, Light of Motiram. Sony accused Tencent of developing a “knock-off game [of Horizon Zero Dawn] so blatant that the public loudly decried the obvious and pervasive copying of Horizon’s protected elements,” claiming the release of Light of Motiram “jeopardizes Horizon’s continued success, including current expansion plans for the franchise.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
