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Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

businessinsider.com

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Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#41

Post by bagels »

ren_engineer wrote: post #37
wnevets wrote: post #18

Amazon knows all about of the garbage being sold on its site but only does something about it if you're a massive tech company who threatens to sue, very cool. I wonder how many of these thumb drives are legit. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=2+tb+thumb+drive&crid=YZ410MSN6L1...

my question is why hasn't the FBI seized every Amazon warehouse for knowingly selling counterfeit goods? They do this routinely for smaller businesses selling fake stuff

Do they usually seize the warehouses, or the counterfeit goods? Is it the FBI that is typically doing this, or CBP?

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#42

Post by [deleted] »

microtherion wrote: post #17
qgin wrote: post #9

How is this any different than Apple having its own wood-and-steel display area in Best Buy?

Yes, the very reason for Apple to create the "store-in-store" concept was that they thought that the buying experience for their products was inadequate (both in presentation of the products and qualification of the staff): https://web.archive.org/web/19990210163227/http://product.in... The Amazon storefront simply seems to be an extension of that concept from brick and mortar to online stores. I'm not sure what's su…

[deleted]

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#43

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

ren_engineer wrote: post #37
wnevets wrote: post #18

Amazon knows all about of the garbage being sold on its site but only does something about it if you're a massive tech company who threatens to sue, very cool. I wonder how many of these thumb drives are legit. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=2+tb+thumb+drive&crid=YZ410MSN6L1...

my question is why hasn't the FBI seized every Amazon warehouse for knowingly selling counterfeit goods? They do this routinely for smaller businesses selling fake stuff

I've wondered why it's allowed as well. I assume via salami-slicing/frog-boiling. We let it get worse little by little because everyone was winning now it feels too big to police.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#44

Post by smoldesu »

echelon wrote: post #13

> In contrast, product pages for Apple competitors like Samsung are riddled with ads from competitors, recommendations, and other sponsored banners. Insider says that other companies, including Samsung, have complained about the preferential treatment given to Apple. You shouldn't be allowed to place ads against another company's product listings or trademarked brands. You shouldn't be able to pay Google to advertise…

So if I search Amazon for "Tylenol", you're saying the experience is better if they don't show me bulk acetaminophen? Or, is the damage to Tylenol just too great to offer people an alternative?

I'm not really sure what your point is here. What's wrong with comparing products across brands?

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#45

Post by scarface_74 »

paxys wrote: post #40
alberth wrote: post #22

Dumb question: why is this not allowed? Presumably, Apple paid Amazon to reduce the number of ads. What's so wrong about that? All companies allow large enterprise customers (who drive high revenue), to have custom / tailored offerings based on their requests.

The issue is primarily about counterfeiting, which is illegal regardless of the companies involved and the deals between them. Samsung has an Amazon store, and other companies bid for ad spots shown right on the official store page which link to illegal knockoffs of Samsung products. Samsung complains, and Amazon says "sorry we can't help it, that's just how things work". Then Apple comes along, and Amazon magically…

Apple doesn’t have an exclusive agreement with Amazon for online sales.

I agree though bidding on a trademark where you can advertise as a competitor when someone explicitly searches for a brand should be considered copyright infringement.

It’s definitely a horrible user experience - Apple, Google, and Amazon all do it

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#46

Post by scarface_74 »

kube-system wrote: post #29
alberth wrote: post #22

Dumb question: why is this not allowed? Presumably, Apple paid Amazon to reduce the number of ads. What's so wrong about that? All companies allow large enterprise customers (who drive high revenue), to have custom / tailored offerings based on their requests.

When a company controls a large part of a market, regulators give extra scrutiny to any efforts that company may make that harms competition.

You mean 36% of e-commerce and an even smaller portion of all retail?

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#47

Post by gumballindie »

ren_engineer wrote: post #37
wnevets wrote: post #18

Amazon knows all about of the garbage being sold on its site but only does something about it if you're a massive tech company who threatens to sue, very cool. I wonder how many of these thumb drives are legit. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=2+tb+thumb+drive&crid=YZ410MSN6L1...

my question is why hasn't the FBI seized every Amazon warehouse for knowingly selling counterfeit goods? They do this routinely for smaller businesses selling fake stuff

Corruption.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#48

Post by toast0 »

echelon wrote: post #13

> In contrast, product pages for Apple competitors like Samsung are riddled with ads from competitors, recommendations, and other sponsored banners. Insider says that other companies, including Samsung, have complained about the preferential treatment given to Apple. You shouldn't be allowed to place ads against another company's product listings or trademarked brands. You shouldn't be able to pay Google to advertise…

Why not? As long as it's not deceptive, seems ok to me. Trademarks don't mean absolute ownership of a word.

I'm not a huge fan of advertising in retail, but even in offline retail, manufacturers/distributors are paying for shelf space, either directly in dollars or offset from the product cost / managed through other terms. Having your product accessory or competitor shelved nearby a more well known product is helpful; ads in a retail website are analogous to that.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#49

Post by StressedDev »

ren_engineer wrote: post #37
wnevets wrote: post #18

Amazon knows all about of the garbage being sold on its site but only does something about it if you're a massive tech company who threatens to sue, very cool. I wonder how many of these thumb drives are legit. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=2+tb+thumb+drive&crid=YZ410MSN6L1...

my question is why hasn't the FBI seized every Amazon warehouse for knowingly selling counterfeit goods? They do this routinely for smaller businesses selling fake stuff

Probably because seizing the entire warehouse is an awful and unjust idea.

First, Amazon's warehouse hold merchandise from other companies. Why should they be punished because Amazon or a different company is selling counterfeit goods.

Second, do the retailers know they are selling counterfeit products? There is a huge difference between intentionally deceiving people and getting hoodwinked by thieves. For example, if Amazon's employees decided to buy counterfeit and promote them, that would be wrong. However, what happens if an Amazon employee is tricked and thinks they are buying legitimate goods but are really buying fake goods. In the later case, Amazon is a victim of fraud and should not be punished.

Finally, punishments should be proportional to the crime. If I cause $5 worth of damage, I should not pay a $10,000 fine. Note I have noticed a lot of online posters push for draconian punishments and that is not just or helpful.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#50

Post by fragmede »

scarface_74 wrote: post #45
paxys wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is primarily about counterfeiting, which is illegal regardless of the companies involved and the deals between them. Samsung has an Amazon store, and other companies bid for ad spots shown right on the official store page which link to illegal knockoffs of Samsung products. Samsung complains, and Amazon says "sorry we can't help it, that's just how things work". Then Apple comes along, and Amazon magically…

Apple doesn’t have an exclusive agreement with Amazon for online sales. I agree though bidding on a trademark where you can advertise as a competitor when someone explicitly searches for a brand should be considered copyright infringement. It’s definitely a horrible user experience - Apple, Google, and Amazon all do it

why would it be copyright infringement and not trademark infringement?
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