Intellectual Property or misuse of Logos
We have been in business since 1959. An honest fabric company trying to make a living. Now all of the sudden, We are getting hit with IP issues, misuse of Logos, etc. We buy fabric from large companies and resell in our Amazon store. Are these large distributors being hit as well or just the small businesses? What do I need to provide Amazon with so we can take care of this problem? When we call Amazon, We get the run around with no specific answer. Is there a document we need to fill out stating we are authorized to sell fabric? Please help!
Intellectual Property or misuse of Logos
We have been in business since 1959. An honest fabric company trying to make a living. Now all of the sudden, We are getting hit with IP issues, misuse of Logos, etc. We buy fabric from large companies and resell in our Amazon store. Are these large distributors being hit as well or just the small businesses? What do I need to provide Amazon with so we can take care of this problem? When we call Amazon, We get the run around with no specific answer. Is there a document we need to fill out stating we are authorized to sell fabric? Please help!
7 replies
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9
You need authorization from the fabric's brand (if fabric is branded-I don't know).
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
Certainly it depends on WHAT fabric you sell. If it's an all white fabric nobody will complain. But if you want to sell Burberry design or other recognizable fabrics I suppose you need a "Letter of Authorization" from the company who owns the design patent. Idem for fabric showing Micky Mouse or Harry Potter....
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
These kinds of "Suspected Intellectual Property Violations" are usually a result of the brand name attribute not matching with other aspects of the listing. For example, you are selling fabric with sports team logos, some of those listings have correct brand names, but some of the ASINs have the brand name attribute as "Generic". Amazon's system will detect the team logo, and compare that to the brand name attribute, and if the brand name attribute is not recorded as having a license to use that team logo, it will take the listing down. Your product may be fully licensed and authentic, but if the listing shows "Generic" or something else (like your own store name) as the Brand Name attribute, that is a problem. It is almost impossible to get the brand name attribute corrected, so I would definitely avoid adding your offers to any ASINs with "Generic" as the brand name if the fabric has an actual brand name. If the listing has the correct brand name attribute, then it is a matter of convincing Amazon that the brand name is licensed to use the IP. That may be difficult to do, if Amazon does not already have record of the licensing involved. Most manufacturers won't just send you a copy of their licensing agreements for you to pass on to Amazon. And, even if Amazon already has record of the licensing involved, sometimes their system will take the listing down anyway.
April_Amazon
Hello @Seller_ZZGurn4bo2TMT,
Thank you @Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9, @Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC and @Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L for so much information that may directly relate to your specific issue.
Things have for sure changed over the years and IP issues are much more common. If you could provide an ASIN, a case ID or Performance Notification (with personal information removed) I could provide more specific details for you.
Here is a document that may provide some current policy standards for review: Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers
If you received a violation on the Account Health Page, It may be either from a Rights Owner complaint, which would fall under "Received Intellectual Property Complaints" or could me more like what @Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L describes, and fall under "Suspected Intellectual Property Violations".
Each type of violation has a unique cause and also a specific way to resolve them. It would be very helpful to have the ASIN's you are struggling with. The Performance Notifications will provide the steps required to successfully address specific issues.
I will be happy to help you with this. I look forward to your response. Thank you for reaching out on the forums.
April
Seller_WtOwWhtSrFjva
We got hit today after selling a produce for nine years.
It was a seed developed by Texas A&M and they said we were using a trademarked name.
I am pretty sure we were allowed to use it the way we were but we took it out.
Seller_TvaTXH61RRGLO
Apparently you are not authorized to sell fabric with other people's logos or designs on it. Some logos and drawings have the design registered to protect them from opportunistic merchants. Even if you modify a bit the design, if still resembles enough so it may confuse customers you may still get in trouble. Hire an artist to draw nice prints for you and sell your original fabric.
