Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has lodged a $2 million lawsuit against Mobile Star LLC over trademark infringement on the sale of counterfeit chargers and cables. The iPhone maker lawsuit alleges that the counterfeit products using its trademark had failed safety tests and posed risks to consumers. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has since removed the questionable products from its online marketplace.

Apple Lawsuit

According to court fillings, the company has taken Mobile Star LLC to task for infringing on its registered trademarks. The company now wants the company barred from selling the products given that they continue to hurt its sales as well as reputation.

“The safety of Apple’s customers is of paramount importance to Apple, and Apple devotes significant resources to ensuring its power products meet industry safety standards and are subjected to rigorous testing for safety and reliability. Apple brings this suit to stop Mobile Star from any further distribution of counterfeit Apple products to the public,” Apple said in a statement.

Counterfeit Menace

Apple, just like other companies that deal in consumer products, is not new to counterfeits as counterfeiters continue to explore ways of cashing in on its brand name. Fuelling the counterfeit menace is the fact that the company’s products, as well as accessories, always command a premium price. This goes a long way to fuel the black-market, where most consumers always reach out to by buy the substandard affordable products.

The lawsuit also raises serious questions about the kind of products listed on Amazon Listings. The fact that the iPhone maker claims that nearly 90% of the adapters and chargers sold on the platform are fake should continue to raise concerns about similar products on the platform.

The  e-commerce giant has long been seen as a genuine trading platform compared to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), which is constantly under scrutiny over fakes. Even with the company insisting it has zero tolerance to counterfeits, it still needs to enhance its efforts on background checks, to ensure such incidences do not erupt in future.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was unchanged in Wednesday trading session having tanked by $0.35 to close at $117.12 a share.