Sennheiser Files First Wave of Lawsuits Against Websites Allegedly Selling Counterfeit Earphones

Posted 10/11/2011 at 8:24am | by Paul Lilly

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The Sennheiser brand is one that's well known in the audio community, and one we're plenty familiar with, having reviewed a handful of Sennheiser earphones and headsets through the years. In a weird sort of way, Sennheiser could take it as a compliment that its brand has sparked a booming counterfeit market, but really the company is just pissed and out for blood.

Sennheiser sent us word that it filed a dozen federal lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. These lawsuits target a whole bunch of alleged "Internet-based pirates and counterfeiters" spread out all across the country who stand accused of selling counterfeit Sennheiser merchandise, including popular models like the XC200, CX300 II, CX380 II, CX500, and PMX80 lines of headphones.

Suspicions started to arise that counterfeit merchandise was a growing problem when Sennheiser noticed a marked increase in the number of warranty returns and complaints about the overall quality and workmanship of some of its products. An internal investigation determined that the bulk of complaints originated from purchases made online, usually from a website based in Chine or from a domestic Ebay seller who acquired counterfeit goods from a Chinese wholesaler. In addition to those listed in the lawsuits, Sennheiser said it has identified more than 100 other "domestic pirates" and numerous websites to be targeted next.

"Sennheiser will vigorously defend the Sennheiser brand name, representing premium quality and performance, by taking action against counterfeiters and ensuring our customers know how to avoid purchasing counterfeit products," said John Falcone, President/CEO of Sennheiser Electronic Corporation. "Customers are urged to purchase only from authorized Sennheiser dealers."

A list of authorized dealers can be found here.

Image Credit: Sennheiser