This week, Amazon has been accused of copying camera gear maker Peak Design’s Everyday Sling. The company has been selling this popular camera bag on its site from 2017. In October 2020, Amazon offered a bag with a strikingly similar design at one third of the original sling bag’s price on Amazon Basics.
Peter Dering, the CEO of Peak Design said that his company’s best seller, the “Everyday Sling” bag was copied by Amazon as it was the most popular bag on its site. He added that it was felt that there was a bell in Amazon which chimed in a tune that told the e-commerce giant that it would be worth their time “to make the knockoff” and he said that it finally happened to his San Francisco based company.
Derring decided to air his concerns publicly. On Wednesday, the company released an advertisement. It is called “A Tale of Two Slings: Peak Design and Amazon Basics.” The ad co-stars Peter Dering, the CEO and makes fun of the “copycat” product from Amazon.
Once the ad went live, many of the loyal customers of Peak Design swamped “Amazon Basics Everyday Sling” with negative ratings. There were so many of these ratings that Amazon was forced to disable reviews on the item, temporarily.
Dering said that he thinks that Amazon Basics look-alike sling had infringed on Peak Design’s patented sling. The company considered filing a suit but finally decided to release the ad hoping it would begin a conversation about the company’s “flippant copycatting.”
Amazon and other big companies are being investigated by the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. Although the e-commerce giant has stated that it has no reason to abuse third-party sales as they account for more than half of the company’s overall sales, the House report found quite a few loopholes in Amazon’s policies.
Sellers and brands like Peak Design are slowly hitting back at Amazon’s low price and copycat techniques in their home products publicly. These companies believe that the platform is using pressure tactics on their businesses.
Peter Dering, the CEO of San Francisco based Peak Design also said that he was having a lot of fun with this and that “I would never have fun with a lawsuit.”
Representatives from Amazon declined to comment when asked for a response.
