How can Amazon sellers avoid infringement?

There are a number of ways you can check to see if a product is protected by trademark law:

1. Check the seller

2. Website query

The patent search website can view trademark information:

3. Other methods

It is much easier to prevent trademark infringement than to deal with it after it happens. You can take a variety of steps to avoid infringement:

1. Don’t follow others’ sales

Follow-selling is very common on the Amazon platform. However, to avoid infringement, sellers are advised not to follow-sell casually. It is recommended that you create your own product listings. Follow-selling can easily put you in the predicament of infringement.

2. Research suppliers

Make sure you always buy from reputable suppliers. Before signing a deal with a supplier, research their reputation and what others are saying about them. Sometimes a simple Google search will tell you a lot about the supplier.

3. Pay attention to the words you use

For example, if you are selling Samsung phone cases or accessories, when editing the product page, it is best to add a preposition between the brand and the product. Do not just write "Samsung Galaxy Phone Case". Add "is compatible with" or "suitable for" in the middle. Directly connecting the product and brand name is a typical case of infringement.

Even if you are careful, you may still be accused of copyright infringement. If this happens, you need to take action immediately to prevent the situation from getting worse.

• First, remove the listing immediately;

• Then, contact the complainant. Contact the complainant directly, using professional and sincere language to explain that the violation was not intentional, and provide evidence if possible.

• Apologize. Make sure the listing has been removed. Understand what you can do to make amends or provide a solution that satisfies both parties.

There are two situations for contacting Amazon:

If you believe you have not infringed your rights, you can email Amazon ( [email protected] ) to explain the situation. The steps are as follows:

Explain that you are aware of the complaint and have contacted the complainant;

Describe the problem and provide specific details, such as logo similarity;

Show evidence that you are not infringing, such as documents provided by your supplier;

Request account recovery.

If you do infringe copyright, you need to take the following steps:

Show that you have realized your mistake.

Express regret for making a mistake;

·State that you have contacted the complainant;

Indicate that you have removed the listing.

Guarantee that the listing will not be relisted;

Provide performance;

Make a statement of commitment to behave in a responsible manner.

Amazon will listen to both sides, and if you apologize sincerely and prove that you will not do it again, Amazon will most likely reinstate your account. However, if the violation is repeated, the account will be deleted.

If you are involved in legal proceedings, you should immediately seek advice from a legal professional and provide all evidence and documents to help your lawyer understand the situation.

Infringement by other sellers can cause huge losses to your business. If you sell branded products, which are protected by trademark law, but you find that other sellers offer the same products, you will need to provide evidence to prove whether the products are genuine. You can test whether their products are genuine by test buying.

If you confirm that the product is not genuine after purchasing and testing, you can file a complaint with Amazon to protect your business.

The process for reporting to Amazon is as follows :

Go to https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement;

Fill in the form , specifying various details:

When filling out forms, the more detailed the information, the better, as it will speed up the process.

When you are finished, click Submit.

Generally, you will receive a response from Amazon within 5-7 days after submission.

Amazon will contact you to ask for further information or request images of the product or screenshots of the infringing listing.

If you specialize in selling your own brand products, it is recommended to register with Amazon. This service can provide various rights and tools to protect your listings. After the registration, you still need to fill out a form to report infringement, but the processing time is greatly shortened, and Amazon usually responds within 24 hours.

Copyright infringement is theft, and sellers need to take any complaints seriously. The best thing to do is to take steps in advance to prevent this from happening.