What should I do if my copyright or trademark is infringed? Report it immediately!

There are countless cases of brand infringement on Amazon. Every few days, sellers say on major forums that their products are being copied and infringed, resulting in traffic loss, reduced profits, and damage to their brand reputation.

At this time, sellers need to understand how to better report these malicious sellers who infringe trademarks and copyrights, and learn the following methods to effectively prevent infringement.

Amazon’s Brand Registry allows eligible brand owners to take specific preventative measures to avoid brand erosion, control rogue sellers who aim to undermine brand credibility, and protect sellers’ intellectual property (IP).

Through the registry, sellers gain access to proprietary text and image searches, predictive automation based on sellers’ first-hand reports of suspected IP infringement, and greater authority over product listings that include the seller’s brand name.

If you are enrolled in Brand Registry, you should use the Report a Violation (RAV) tool within the program. This form can also be used to report patents and other IP claims.

If you wish to submit your report in writing, you will need to provide Amazon with the following information:

●An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

● A description of the copyrighted, trademarked, or patented work that has been infringed

● A description of the material claimed to be infringing was found on the website (whether the infringing material occurred on the product, the physical packaging of the product, images on the product detail page, text on the product detail page, etc.)

● List of infringing products (ASIN or URL of the product detail page for a specific product)

The seller's address, phone number, and email address

Any additional information that would help Amazon process your complaint (i.e., order IDs of any test purchases of the product you are reporting)

● A statement that the Seller's disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law

● The information in the notice is accurate and you identify, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf

With regard to ownership and image restrictions on Amazon product detail pages, there are certain circumstances where Amazon does not enforce infringement.

Once a detail page is made, it becomes a permanent page on the Amazon website and will remain even if the seller's inventory runs out.

Additionally, when you add copyrighted images to your product detail pages, you grant Amazon and its affiliates the nonexclusive, royalty-free right to exercise all publicity rights with respect to the materials.

Other sellers can list items for sale on pages that the brand seller has created or added copyrighted images to.

However, Amazon does require sellers to only list on detail pages that are an exact match for their product.

If a brand seller believes that another seller has listed a product that is not an exact match to their product, they can report the violation directly to Amazon using the form above.

Additionally, Amazon will not take action on IP notices concerning trademarks, designs, or patents in countries other than the country where the removal was requested.

For example, if a seller has registered a trademark in Canada and requests Amazon to remove the ASIN from Amazon in the United States, Amazon may reject the seller's application.

First, do not submit more than one type of IP violation per application.

For example, do not select Trademark Infringement and discuss Copyright in the same form. If a seller wants to report infringement of two separate trademarks, they should submit separate applications.

Finally, please do not submit a complaint retraction through the Report Infringement form or Brand Registry.

After submitting the form or using Amazon’s RAV tool in Brand Registry, you will receive a confirmation message.

After processing the seller's application, Amazon will send a follow-up message to the seller.

If the seller's claim is valid, Amazon will notify the seller of the seller's claim and contact the seller if they have any questions.

If the seller’s application is accepted, Amazon will remove the reported content and take action against the responsible seller.

If a seller’s application is rejected, Amazon will not remove the reported content or take any action against the reported seller.

(Source: Cross-border Sellers Forum)