Plan Minimizes litigation costs – directly benefits consumers
Zacharia ‘23 [John Zacharia – Professor of law at George Washington university. “CONGRESS IS TRYING TO KEEP CONSUMERS SAFE FROM COUNTERFEIT GOODS ONLINE THROUGH LEGISLATION: WILL IT WORK?” The Brand Protection Professional: A Practitioner’s Journal, December, https://bpp.msu.edu/magazine/congress-trying-consumers-safe-counterfeit-goods-december2023/ //MS
Rather than frame the bill’s best practices in terms of “reasonable measures,” Congress should follow the simpler approach the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took in 2020 when it set forth its own set of clear best practices. Dept. of Homeland Security, Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Report to the President of the United States (Jan. 24, 2020). Although DHS’s list of best practices is not perfect, they are set forth clearly without as much ambiguity, making them easier for e-commerce platforms and consumers to follow and to understand. Not only would such an approach make the SHOP SAFE Act more effective, it would minimize the litigation costs that platforms, trademark owners, and consumers would have to endure. Congress could protect consumers even more by applying the proposed provisions of the SHOP SAFE Act to all e-commerce platforms equally. Currently, the bill would not impose contributory trademark counterfeiting liability on platforms with less than $500,000 in annual sales unless these smaller platforms received 10 notices that a third party seller had sold counterfeit goods implicating health and safety. SHOP SAFE Act of 2023, § 2(a)(4)(D).