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Zambia isn’t the problem. Amazon is. And ICCE is looking the wrong way.
ICCE just wrapped up its second major toner counterfeit raid of 2025, this time in Lusaka, Zambia. Thousands of fake cartridges were seized, the usual photo ops posted, and press releases issued. But the bigger question remains untouched: Why is the global counterfeit toner trade still thriving — and why is no one talking about Amazon’s role in enabling it? While ICCE and OEMs are busy celebrating another raid in Africa, millions of counterfeit toner cartridges — mostly cloned in China — are being sold directly to consumers through Amazon with near-zero resistance. The real counterfeit operation isn’t some dusty warehouse in Zambia. It’s a streamlined, high-volume, cross-border distribution system running 24/7 on the world’s biggest online marketplace. And right now, ICCE is letting it happen.
Chinese Cloners Run Amazon — and Nobody’s Stopping Them
Chinese cloners aren’t just selling fake toner on Amazon — they’re dominating entire product categories, often using stolen OEM chip designs, fake branding, and deliberate deception. These companies operate dozens — sometimes hundreds — of fake storefronts under disposable brand names. When one is flagged, they simply pop up under a new identity. Many exploit Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to gain Prime status and fast shipping, giving consumers the illusion of legitimacy. ICCE knows this. Every OEM knows this. Amazon certainly knows this. So why hasn’t there been a crackdown?
ICCE’s Focus on Easy Wins
Let’s be honest: coordinating a raid in Zambia or Nigeria is far easier than confronting Chinese manufacturing cartels or holding Amazon legally accountable.
- Raids in Africa? Safe. Local. Symbolic. A good press release.
- Takedowns in China? Risky. Expensive. Politically sensitive.
- Calling out Amazon? Explosive. Threatens partnerships. Could trigger litigation.
So instead of going after the source of the problem, ICCE continues to focus on the tail end of the supply chain — third-tier distributors and street-level counterfeiters in the Global South — while leaving the factories and digital storefronts untouched. That’s not enforcement. That’s optics.
Amazon: Complicit, or Just Conveniently Ignorant?
Amazon’s role in enabling the counterfeit toner epidemic cannot be overstated: It profits directly from every counterfeit unit sold via FBA — collecting fees, storage costs, and shipping revenue. It shields counterfeiters with lax identity verification, no effective seller penalties, and little transparency. It actively fights regulation, lobbying against stricter marketplace accountability in the U.S., EU, and elsewhere. Amazon will act only when brands make noise. But so far, ICCE’s silence has been deafening.
What Needs to Happen — Now
If ICCE wants to remain credible, it needs to stop playing defense and start disrupting the real offenders.
1. Name and Shame the Cloners
Publicly identify the Chinese companies mass-producing infringing toner and flooding Amazon with illegal stock. Use forensic testing, shipping data, and IP evidence. Make the findings public.
2. Force Amazon to Clean House
ICCE members — including Canon, HP, Epson — must collectively demand Amazon implement: Mandatory seller identity verification. Permanent bans for repeat infringers. Full traceability on FBA inventory. Real-time IP enforcement tools. If Amazon refuses, escalate. Sue. Lobby. Go public.
3. Take the Fight to China
Coordinate with Chinese customs, IP agencies, and international trade bodies to hit manufacturers where it hurts: their exports. Apply political and economic pressure. Fund investigative journalism. Use every lever.
4. Stop the PR, Start the Pressure
No more back-patting over raids in Zambia. Every resource spent chasing small-time resellers is a resource not spent dismantling the real industrial-scale networks operating online.
The Bottom Line: ICCE Is Running Out of Excuses
For too long, ICCE has played it safe — chasing counterfeiters where it’s easiest, not where it matters most. But the market has changed. The counterfeiters have evolved. And the real battlefield is digital. Chinese cloners are exploiting Amazon to reach millions of customers, destroying OEM margins, duping consumers, and undercutting legitimate resellers. ICCE knows this — and the longer it stays silent, the more complicit it becomes.
It’s time to stop raiding warehouses in Africa and start raiding the digital storefronts where the real damage is done. The fight against counterfeit toner won’t be won with press releases and photo ops. It will be won by taking on the giants: Amazon, and the cloners they quietly empower. Until then, the counterfeiters are winning.
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