HELP PLEASE: Intellectual Property Infringement

[smiggy]

Hey guys, received an e-mail this morning about an IP infringement (see below).

I sell genuine branded apparel that is purchased directly from the brand in the USA and then I sell it in the UK. I'm not an authorised reseller therefore not actually welcome by the brand nor Amazon although I've pulled a few tricks in the past to get gated.

Today, 2 of my listings were removed. The 3rd party has filed 2 IP claims stating that 2 items are ‘Inauthentic’ / 'Counterfeit'.

My account has not been suspended yet (5 years old, 1 suspension, 1 reactivation, 0 complaints + 100% performance, since reactivation last year) The company filing the claim are legit, though they are not the actual brand.

Now, does anyone know:

(A) At the top of the message it says inauthentic claim although at the bottom, along with the ASIN it says counterfeit.

If they are claiming counterfeit, I presume this is different to inauthentic? I can show the authentic receipts showing in store purchases to prove the product is not counterfeit for the IP claim, although if they send this to Amazon, AZ would shut me down as this is evidence that I'm not an authorised reseller.

Is there a way around this? If I get creative and send AZ invoices stating this is a false claim, does anyone know if AZ would show my evidence to the IP Claim Representative?

I know Amazon do verify invoices, to what extent do they do this? Are they checking the order actually existed? Do they also cross check the Order ID, EAN + Quantities or are they just verifying that the source is an authorised distributer?

(B) I can respond to the e-mail address/ rights owner and provide them with the genuine receipts.

If I do this, this will prove the items are genuine although it will also be me owning up to the fact that I'm not an authorised reseller.

I presume they would simply just hand over the information to Amazon.

Fortunately only 2 out of 23 of the listings have been block right now although they are all under the same parent ASIN so I feel like I’m on a ticking time bomb until they either (I) purchase more product and file more claims or (II) it simply gets processed through Amazon and someone investigates further.

Has anyone dealt with anything like this before? How long until the account gets suspended? Do the claims ever go away? If it’s ignored what happens?

I’ve also reached out to an Amazon suspension legal team who help sellers to see if they can help as this is a real tricky scenario.

I’d really appreciate any input, even if it’s only to one of the questions.

Thanks 🙏
Smiggy

———————

Hello,

We received a report from a rights owner that the products listed at the end of this email are inauthentic.

The rights owner is asserting that the products infringe the following trademark:
-- Trademark number XXXXXXXXX

Why did this happen?
One or more of your listings may be infringing the intellectual property rights of others.

We’re here to help.
If you need help understanding why your listings may infringe the intellectual property rights of others, please search for “Intellectual Property Policy” in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/g...rnal/201361070).

How do I reactivate my listing?
Please provide the following to reactivate your listings:
-- An invoice, letter of authorization or a licensing agreement from the manufacturer or Rights Owner demonstrating that your products are lawful to notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk. External links are not accepted. For security reasons, we only accept attachments in the following file formats: .jpeg, .jpg, .pjpeg, .gif, .png, .tiff.

Have your listings been removed in error?
If you have never sold or listed the product, please reach out to us and tell us.
If you think that the rights owner has made an error in sending the notice, please reach out to the rights owner and ask for a retraction of the notice. To retract the complaint, the rights owner must send the retraction to us at notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk or use the retraction function in Brand Registry.

These are the rights owner’s contact details:
-- NAME OF RIGHTS OWNER - XXXX XXXXXXXX

-- EMAIL ADDRESS OF RIGHTS OWNER - XXXXXXXXXX@ybrandprotection.com


We can only accept retractions if the rights owner clearly states that they made an error. For any other reason, please explain to us why you were warned in error so that we can investigate the case.

What happens if I do not provide the requested information?
Your listings will remain inactive. We reserve the right to destroy the inventory associated with this violation if proof of authenticity is not provided within 90 days.

ASIN: XXXXX
XXXXX
Infringement type: Counterfeit
Complaint ID: XXXXXXXXXX

You can view your account performance (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/p...tag=email_warn) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.

-- iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-Seller/id
-- Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ile.android&hl...

Sincerely,
Seller Performance Team,
Amazon.

[josh]

Bit of a long winded post. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for you

Speak to the rights owners and try to obtain a retraction.
Retail arbitration is alive and well, so you can use that model then admit fault and take responsibility

Good luck

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by josh

Bit of a long winded post. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for you

Speak to the rights owners and try to obtain a retraction.
Retail arbitration is alive and well, so you can use that model then admit fault and take responsibility

Good luck

Big businesses have dealerships and they won't throw their partners under the bus for retail arbitrage.

I don't think OP stands a chance. I would get out of that product ASAP especially if the account is not stealth.

[e2free]

Only the right owner can help, some other way may work but risking the account,

Remove other active items from same owner or you risking account altogether.

Amazon will not restore listing without rightowner notice

[e2free]

Originally Posted by khan786

Hey I can help you remove this Intellectual Property Infringement.

Only approved sellers can offer this service

[rsot]

Welcome to the forum OP - all the best as you master ghost

[munkron]

Try to get them to retract it is the best option.

Then appeal it no matter what. I'm not sure what the UK laws are, but from what I hear they have a bit more protection than the USA. Even ⊗⊗⊗⊗ infringement reports are hard to appeal, but it's possible.