How to successfully file a complaint against Amazon for copyright infringement?

How to successfully file a complaint against Amazon for copyright infringement?

Amazon handles infringement complaints very strictly. Once an account is complained about, it will make a direct ruling. Sending warning emails, removing products, and canceling sales permissions are just small matters. In serious cases, the account will be directly blocked, causing sellers to worry that their products will be reported for infringement for some strange reason one day.

There are many types of infringement. Let’s talk about the common infringements.

Common Infringements on Amazon

Trademark infringement: using the other party’s trademark or logo without the official authorization of the product brand


Patent infringement: Patent infringement There are three main types of patents: invention patents, design patents and utility model patents. To identify whether a product has a patent, you must know at least one of the following three elements: patent name, patent holder, and patent number.

Copyright infringement: For Amazon sellers, copyright infringement also includes the following aspects:

1. The products sold are printed with other people's copyrighted designs.

2. The products sold use the layout of others’ copyright.

3. Plagiarizing other people’s product descriptions. Yes, this is also infringement and may be complained about, and then the listing will be removed from the shelves, or even lead to account restrictions. But in terms of plagiarism of product descriptions, copying the product description of one company is called plagiarism, and copying the product descriptions of multiple companies and summarizing and recombining them is called innovation.

4. Stealing the listing pictures of the same product. Amazon will not investigate the source of the pictures when uploading product pictures. However, if the original seller of the pictures finds out and provides evidence to complain, and if Amazon verifies that the situation is true, the seller will be warned at the least and the store will be closed directly at the worst. Even secondary creation may infringe the copyright, so it is recommended to take pictures by yourself, which can better reflect the differences of your own products in details.


2. After selecting a product, if you want to know whether it is infringing, you can first use a relatively simple method to judge:

1. Use product keywords to search for patents on Google;

2. Google image search and identification;

3. Find the product you need to develop, and identify whether the product has a patent based on the supplier's price and minimum order quantity. Generally, if the price is high and the minimum order quantity is large, it is likely that the product has a patent;

4. Determine whether a product has a patent from the perspective of market capacity and customers. The fewer people who follow or sell the product, the more likely the seller has a patent.




3. If you want to further confirm, you can check through various patent websites:

Commonly used patent search websites

1. US Trademark Search Network (link: Trademarks | USPTO), this tool is more commonly used.

https://www.uspto.gov/trademark

2. EU Trademark Search

https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/

3. Search for US patents (link: Search for patents) Enter the patent keywords you want to search in Term 1

https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/search-patents

4. EU Patent Search Open the search link: Designview, enter keywords, and click "Search"

https://www.tmdn.org/tmdsview-web/welcome



Next, we will talk about how to correctly appeal if your account is blocked after Amazon infringes your rights.

Case analysis: Complaints of infringement by trademark owners/patent owners

Main points of appeal:

1. Don’t be complacent and remove infringing products as soon as possible. Check the entire store to see if there are any similar products and remove them all.

2. Contact the complainant mentioned in the email, admit that the mistake was unintentional, plead with them, inform them that the product has been removed from the shelves and promise not to sell their brand of products anymore, and copy the Amazon notice email address.

3. Complaint letter:

- Purchase invoices and other valid certificates can be submitted as supplementary documents

- Indicates that the product has been deleted immediately and is no longer for sale

- Increase product brand/patent/authenticity testing to ensure that there are no issues before putting the product on the shelves

- Set up a dedicated team to verify product information: appearance/brand/factory qualifications, etc.

- Provide supplier contact information and network information to prove that there is a formal purchase channel

- Make sure you don't make the same mistake again


Key points of the appeal email:

1. Remove the infringing products from the shelves immediately, and investigate the entire store to see if there are similar products with an attitude of correcting mistakes. All products will be removed from the shelves. In the future, more testing will be done on product brands/patents/authenticity, and only products will be put on the shelves when 100% sure there are no problems;

2. Contact the complainant mentioned in the email, admit the mistake, indicate that it was an unintentional error, inform that the product has been removed from the shelves, and promise not to sell their brand products anymore, copy to Amazon's notice email address; (see point 4)

3. The documents contain purchase invoices and other valid certificates that can be submitted as supplements, and the supplier's contact information and network can be provided to prove that there are regular purchase channels. A dedicated team will be formed to verify product information: appearance/brand/factory qualifications, etc., to ensure that no mistakes are made again

4. This is also the most important point. When you receive an email, do not reply easily before you are sure. Try to find an experienced person to write this email. Do not underestimate the reply to the email. Whether the appeal can be successful depends mainly on the content of your email reply! Speaking of infringement, the big seller said that replying to the email is the most important. If you reply too much, Amazon will think you are too long-winded and will not read it. If you reply too little and miss the key points, they will not read it either!


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