Entire Seller Account Suspended After Build International Listings Tool Used a Trademarked Term – Is Recovery Even Possible?
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone here has been through something similar and can point me in the right direction.
WHAT HAPPENED
- I relied on Amazon’s Build International Listings (BIL) tool to auto-translate several hundred listings into Spanish.
- The translator inserted a word that turns out to be a registered trademark. The brand owner reported it to Amazon.
- Account Health showed multiple warnings, each marked “No impact.” Amazon then removed every affected ASIN.
- My Account Health rating stayed at 200, so—based on a phone rep’s advice that I just keep it above 100—I postponed dealing with it.
- Earlier this month Amazon abruptly suspended my entire seller account for trademark infringement.
WHAT I’VE TRIED
- Filed several appeals explaining that the offending term came from Amazon’s own tool and that all problematic listings were deleted immediately.
- Outlined new QA steps to prevent future translation errors.
- E-mailed and phoned the trademark owner multiple times asking them to withdraw the complaint, but they haven’t responded at all.
- Appeals keep getting rejected. Amazon insists on supplier invoices, a Letter of Authorization, and for the brand owner to withdraw the complaint. Because these are my own private-label items, I don’t have invoices or an LOA—this was purely a mistranslation.
MY QUESTIONS
1. Has anyone successfully reinstated an account when the infringement came from Amazon’s translation tool rather than deliberate misuse?
2. Is persuading the brand owner to retract the claim the only viable path, or is there another approach I’m missing?
3. At what point do I assume the account is lost and start over?
Any real-world experiences, sample POAs, or suggestions would be hugely appreciated. I’ve been selling for years and would hate to lose everything over an automated translation error.
Thanks in advance!
Entire Seller Account Suspended After Build International Listings Tool Used a Trademarked Term – Is Recovery Even Possible?
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone here has been through something similar and can point me in the right direction.
WHAT HAPPENED
- I relied on Amazon’s Build International Listings (BIL) tool to auto-translate several hundred listings into Spanish.
- The translator inserted a word that turns out to be a registered trademark. The brand owner reported it to Amazon.
- Account Health showed multiple warnings, each marked “No impact.” Amazon then removed every affected ASIN.
- My Account Health rating stayed at 200, so—based on a phone rep’s advice that I just keep it above 100—I postponed dealing with it.
- Earlier this month Amazon abruptly suspended my entire seller account for trademark infringement.
WHAT I’VE TRIED
- Filed several appeals explaining that the offending term came from Amazon’s own tool and that all problematic listings were deleted immediately.
- Outlined new QA steps to prevent future translation errors.
- E-mailed and phoned the trademark owner multiple times asking them to withdraw the complaint, but they haven’t responded at all.
- Appeals keep getting rejected. Amazon insists on supplier invoices, a Letter of Authorization, and for the brand owner to withdraw the complaint. Because these are my own private-label items, I don’t have invoices or an LOA—this was purely a mistranslation.
MY QUESTIONS
1. Has anyone successfully reinstated an account when the infringement came from Amazon’s translation tool rather than deliberate misuse?
2. Is persuading the brand owner to retract the claim the only viable path, or is there another approach I’m missing?
3. At what point do I assume the account is lost and start over?
Any real-world experiences, sample POAs, or suggestions would be hugely appreciated. I’ve been selling for years and would hate to lose everything over an automated translation error.
Thanks in advance!
1 reply
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
On point 2 - I would say this should be your first port of call as getting the claim retracted is probably the path of least resistance (as the other route is trying to convence amazon they did something wrong).
On point 3 - you will find starting over difficult. You might be able to get an account up and running for a bit - but once they link it to this account (be it name, address, email, bank account) then they'll deactivate that one as well.
You might want to try to do an appeal, then go through managingdirector@amazon.co.uk, then go the mediation route.
