Amazon's peak season is the peak period for infringements. Here are seven tips to help you avoid the minefield

As the year-end peak season approaches, what are sellers most afraid of? The biggest threat is, of course, the account being blocked due to infringement, which is an immeasurable loss. Many sellers are still confused about infringement and do not understand the cause and effect.

The first sale principle (or exhaustion principle) states that after the copyright owner sells a copyrighted work on the market, the buyer has the right to sell the work again . According to the Criminal Resource Manual 1854, the buyer is free to sell without the owner's permission.

The first sale doctrine also provides that after an individual purchases a copy of a copyrighted work, they have the right to sell, display, or otherwise dispose of that copy . However, once the individual sells the copy, those rights end. Therefore, unauthorized copying of copyrighted works is not protected by the first sale doctrine. Therefore, using the first sale doctrine as a defense in a piracy lawsuit is ineffective.

Many Amazon sellers use this rule to fight back against infringement complaints, but Amazon will not cancel the complaint unless the complainant withdraws the complaint or the seller provides a valid invoice.

Therefore, it is best for sellers to obtain complete invoices and other information from suppliers to ensure that there are no problems with inventory. However, Amazon’s infringement complaint retrospective period is 180 days . If the complaint lasts for more than 6 months, the seller will not be affected by the complaint.

When Amazon notifies infringement complaints, it is common to see that no contact information for the complainant is listed. If Amazon withholds the complainant's information, then the chances of the two parties reaching a settlement are slim. If you encounter this situation, just do one thing: contact Amazon's Notice-Dispute Team ([email protected]) as soon as possible , emphasize that Amazon should provide the complainant's information in accordance with the regulations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Amazon's policies, and be careful to explain your intentions sincerely.

If the lawyer has a lawsuit against you, it is not in their interest to drop the case because they will have no income.

On the contrary, the client represented by the lawyer is more likely to reach a settlement with you. When you receive a lawsuit, first look up relevant information about the complainant .

Be aware that even if they withdraw the complaint, you may still not be out of the woods, so make sure they send a withdrawal notification to Amazon using the address you complained to. If Amazon does not send you a withdrawal notification, you will need to contact the Notification-Dispute Team to get the exact information.

If an account is blocked due to copyright infringement, Amazon will usually withhold funds in the account indefinitely. Therefore, sellers should try to collect funds as much as possible to avoid losing money and accounts due to unexpected complaints.

Of course, there are also malicious and fake complaints from competitors. When this happens, the seller should immediately recover the funds in the account and then report it to Amazon.