3M Shuts Down Price-Gouging Mask Seller’s Scheme in New York
(Bloomberg) -- 3M Co., the maker of the high-profile N95 mask, won a judge's order blocking a New Jersey company from using 3M's trademarks in a bid to sell the masks at marked-up prices as demand surges because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a lawsuit filed last month, 3M said Performance Supply Co. in Englishtown, New Jersey, falsely claimed to be an authorized 3M distributor and improperly used 3M logos. Performance Supply tried to sell 7 million masks to New York City's Office of Citywide Procurement for $45 million, almost six times the regular cost, but the deal failed after the city contacted 3M.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Performance Supply to refrain from using 3M trademarks and from acting deceptively to sell the masks.
3M said in a statement that it's pleased with the ruling and that its lawsuits seek to stop “unlawful and unethical behavior seeking to take advantage of this crisis.”
Performance Supply couldn't be reached for comment.
3M has been using trademark protections to block sales of masks at inflated prices. It has filed eight trademark-infringement lawsuits in New York, Florida, California, Indiana and Wisconsin against individuals and companies.
The case is 3M Co. v. Performance Supply Co., 20-cv-02949, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
