E-Commerce
The United States federal government should determine that constructive knowledge of trademark infringement creates contributory trademark liability and a duty to investigate for online intermediaries.
This is a trademark affirmative that tries to increase trademark enforcement against online platforms (like Amazon, eBay, etsy or Facebook marketplace) that don’t take action against counterfeiting. Counterfeiting is a specific form of trademark infringement regulated under the Lanham Act, where a bad actor tries to sell a product under a counterfeit trademark. The problem with counterfeiting enforcement is that most counterfeit products sold in the United States are made in other countries, and it’s impossible to prosecute someone in China for selling a counterfeit good online in the United States. The affirmative claims that instead, the platforms that list and sell those counterfeit products should be held liable for trademark infringement and damages if they do not take proactive measures to enforce anti-counterfeiting measures.