The Keefe Report: Maglula Takes On Amazon

When it comes to writing about magazine loaders, in particular those from Maglula—notable the UpLULA—the word “trusty” often appears in front of it. I did it a few months ago, and in his story on the 5.7x28 mm Ruger-57, Managing Editor Kelly Young did the same thing. If I leave home without it, there is usually some swearing involved. Just last year, we awarded a Golden Bullseye to Maglula for its 10/22 BX LULA loader as Accessory of the Year. I haven’t worn mine out yet, but it’s not for lack of trying.

When it comes to my personal use, I regard the Maglula universal loader as the better mouse trap. It’s always in my range bag whenever I have to load double-stack, single-feed magazines. This is an Israeli company—that only manufactures in Israel—with only 10 employees, but one that has had a huge impact on the shooting sports.

Maglula’s CEO is Guy Tal, and not only is he a gifted inventor, he’s also pretty scrappy. How scrappy? He’s suing Amazon. Tal was fed up with Amazon continuing to sell forgeries and knock-offs of his loaders. For three years, he took note of the counterfeits, and even ended his emails with what to look for in fake Maglulas as his signature line. Now he’s in a David-versus-Goliath legal fight.

While many companies, especially small companies, just whine about it, on Dec. 12, 2019, Maglula filed suit, which you can read below. By Jan. 3, 2020, all Maglula loaders were pulled from Amazon. “We found Amazon breaking IP law in ways never reported before. It is the most comprehensive, broad, and detailed IP-related lawsuit ever filed against Amazon,” wrote Tal.

“Many in our industry suffer from counterfeits. I just happen to be hard-headed enough and relentless chasing both after the Chinese manufacturers and the sellers, such as Amazon,” wrote Tal. “Without our multiple registered and unregistered IP as weapon, Maglula would have been shut down by now.”

Turns out a couple of friends of mine actually had counterfeits made in China. Regardless of how the suit goes, NRA members should be aware that Maglula works through U.S. distributors, and you can find a list of them here—you won’t find them on Amazon. Read the full lawsuit at this link here.