In further legal action against Meta Platforms, Inc., it has announced that it is moving forward Skroutz, in response to the continued misuse of its trademark and logo on Facebook and Instagram.
In the relevant announcement, the company claims that for almost a year, unauthorized pages on the social media in question have been using the Skroutz logo to display fake advertisements, such as offers for "undeliverable boxes" and very expensive products sold for as little as 2 euros.
Skroutz's full announcement:
"Skroutz, the most popular online shopping platform in Greece, announces its decision to proceed with further legal actions against Meta Platforms, Inc.,
in response to the continued misuse of its trademark and logo on Facebook and Instagram. For almost a year now, unauthorized pages on the social media in question have been using the Skroutz logo to display fake ads, such as offers for "undeliverable boxes" and overpriced products sold for as little as €2.
This phenomenon is not limited to Skroutz but affects dozens of brands every day, causing damage to consumers and damaging business credibility. From the outset, Skroutz's legal team followed the reporting process mandated by Meta to address and eliminate this problem. However, Meta's response has been inadequate, limited solely to reactive measures such as deleting pages upon reporting by the affected companies, a process that has proven ineffective.
After months of unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue through dialogue and Meta's processes, Skroutz was forced to seek legal protection. The Court of First Instance of Athens issued a ground-breaking injunction decision (no. 6280/2024), applying the Digital Services Regulation (DSA), obliging Meta:
- To stop any infringement of the intellectual property rights (trademarks, distinctive features, domain name) of Skroutz and to refrain from any future infringement.
- To withdraw from its platforms all false advertisements using the Skroutz logo.
- To prevent the creation of pages that include Skroutz distinctive features in their content.
The ruling also imposes a fine of €3.000 and a month's personal detention on Meta's legal representatives in Ireland for any breach of the ruling. It is worth noting that since the decision was issued, the company has registered more than 150 violations of its trademark to date on the Facebook platform.
Protecting our brand and our customers is our absolute priority, says Skroutz co-founder Mr. Augustidis. "While we recognize the complexity of the problem, Meta's continued inaction has left us with no choice but to take legal action to ensure our users' trust and safety, as well as the integrity of our reputation."
Despite the court order, Skroutz remains vigilant as trademark abuse and similar practices continue to appear on META's social media platforms, affecting other businesses as well. The company collects data every day to prove that the problem is big enough to warrant immediate action by Meta.
Skroutz remains committed to protecting its customers, partners and reputation and will continue to take legal action to put an end to this phenomenon as soon as possible."
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
