The United States Federal Court lawsuit filed on the 20 May is seeking an injunction against the owners and operators of Hong Kong based Stawberrynet.com to prevent them from selling ‘diverted and defaced’ Murad products.
According to Murad, not only is Strawberrynet diverting its products from other sources and selling them on its website, but many of the products listed have been stripped of Murad’s quality control tracking features.
This, the company said, is threatening Murad’s brand identity and could pose a risk to the public.
Stripped of quality control tracking features
Murad’s products have quality control tracking features such as hologram protection seals and unique batch codes, which the company says are used to ‘protect the public from counterfeit goods, health risks and other serious harms’.
“When you buy a Murad product from an authorized retailer, either domestically or internationally, you know the product has been subjected to Murad’s top notch quality control procedures and meets Dr Murad’s high standards,” said Murad general manager, Richard Murad.
According to Murad, at the time of filing the lawsuit, Strawberrynet was believed to be selling over 80 different products from nine of the company’s lines.
Action against unauthorized retailers
Reiterating it stance against any issues that could be deemed harmful to either the brand or consumers, Richard Murad stated that the company “will continue to take legal action against anyone who threatens Murad’s brand integrity or otherwise poses a risk to the public.”
Murad products are sold through authorized retailers worldwide including Sephora, Ulta and Massage Envy, as well as selected salons and spas.
Murad could not be contacted at the time of publication.