Amazon makes our customers happy by providing the best customer experience with their intellectual property! You can shop on a wide range of products with amazing deals and discounts. To protect buyers from fraud, Amazon has strict rules for intellectual property. Therefore, Amazon’s third-party sellers should take their intellectual property policy very seriously. The consequences of IP policy violations can be dire.
Even the first notification can be hard to get around. And repeated violations can bring you to a standstill… forever. So, in order to understand Amazon intellectual property policy, we’ve put together all the information related to IP rights and answered a few questions. The definition of each term tells you pretty much what to pay attention to. Then, I’ve listed the actions to take if Amazon provides an alert.
Copyright
Copyright is the property of original and creative works. It protects the original work of the author, such as music, songs, video games, movies, and anything related to technology. Copyright law prevents others from copying or posting your work without your permission. It motivates authors to do more original work.
All authors of the original work retain the copyright to the work. If you’re selling on Amazon, you’ll need to take a photo of your product to upload to your product detail page. If you want to upload an image owned by another seller, you must first ask for permission. Amazon sometimes allows the sale of copyrighted works with the consent of the copyright owner.
The burnout principle avoids problems by allowing you to resell legally purchased items (physical), usually without permission from the copyright owner. However, if you want to resell an item in Europe, make sure it was previously sold by an authorized distributor or owner.
It’s important to make sure that the products you own or sell that you work hard for don’t violate copyright rules. Otherwise, you may be subject to legal penalties. Protect your sales advantage from being lost.
Brand
Trademarks help differentiate you from other brands. It could be a design, a symbol, or a word that sets it apart from other companies. On Amazon, it is usually a logo or brand name that distinguishes goods and services from other businesses. ‘Specify the origin of the product so that buyers are not confused about the origin of the item they are purchasing. To protect your
trademark, you must contact your country’s trademark office to register. The law protects the seller’s trademark from misuse by third parties.
Do I always need Permission to use a Trademark?
Even if you do not own a trademark, it does not restrict the sale of the owner’s product. If it is genuine, the trademark may be used to promote or market a specific product. If you sell Beats headsets and you sell them as beats headsets, it won’t harm your company’s name. Make sure you are not infringing on your rights and, if in doubt, seek the advice of an attorney before uploading a listing to your Amazon account. To avoid such incidents, products sold by reputable suppliers should be distributed you can take help from Amazon FBA.If you’re genuinely using a trademark to describe the authenticity of a product, that’s fine. But if you use it to show similarity, it’s an infringement.
Make sure the products you sell and the content you use for listings do not violate trademark laws. Otherwise, you may be subject to legal penalties.
Patent
A patent is a form of an owner’s legal right to an invention. It legally permits owners to prevent others from making, selling, using or importing their inventions. Patents do not protect creations, they only apply to inventions, such as other types of cameras invented or mobile phones on the market.
Get help from Amazon FBAmanufacturers or distributors of approved products to better understand the patents and issues involved.
Utility Model
It is also a protection that applies to inventions but not major inventions. Utility models protect the rights of minor inventions. However, this type of ownership does not exist in many EU member states. It is very similar to a patent, but the requirements for applying the model are less stringent. You can register quickly without going through a lot of documentation.
Design
The design is also subject to our Intellectual Property Policy. It protects the appearance of any product or part of it. It can protect any handicraft or industrial product, including graphic design, packaging, and typefaces. Elements of a product similar to the design may also come in the lower right. This includes the color, line, surface, form, structure, or any characteristic of an item’s material.
To protect your design, you must register with the office in your country. However, if you are working under European law, your designs are protected even if they are not registered. However, it is recommended to register the design for long-term durability.
Parallel Import Goods
Owners with an intellectual property policy may prohibit importing or trading of their products in the European Economic Area (EEA) if they are procured outside the European Economic Area. Before sourcing outside the EEA, legally help ensure that product owners don’t mind these kinds of
imports. Even parallel imports with the owner’s permission may affect the image. How? Assume that products included in non-EEA categories differ from products in EEA categories (variants, packaging, coverage, etc.). In this case, customers may leave negative feedback.
Make sure that the products you sell on Amazon are duly imported after you have obtained the owner’s permission. Even if you source an item, you must do so from an owner-allowed supplier. If you need to prove your right to sell an item, make sure you have proper documentation, such as a receipt.
What are the Next Steps to take if you Receive a Warning?
- If you receive a copyright infringement warning, first check that you have listed the product on Amazon. If not, please send an email to Amazon to configure and resolve the issue. If the seller has consulted with the owner, ask them to re-process the complaint. If Amazon learns of the owner’s consent, the complaint will be dismissed. If you believe the owner has made a mistake, provide the relevant invoice or anything that shows the legitimacy of the product.
- However, if you have received the warning more than once and are confident that you are selling a genuine product, please file an objection and attach an owner-issued invoice, order ID, or authorization letter. This document can help prove the authenticity of each product.
- If an owner complains about a violation of the Intellectual Property Policy, you are in trouble. You must send Amazon detailed information about why you sold such goods without permission. Also mention the steps to be followed to avoid violations. Amazon will then check and determine if you can reactivate your account.
- Even if you didn’t know you were involved in a breach, your account will still be suspended or warned. Before selling on Amazon, you should gather sufficient knowledge about intellectual property policies. Consult an attorney if necessary.