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Seller Threatining me with copyright
 

A seller has been selling an item on amazon solely for a while.

I received a message yesterday threading me to close all listings as they claim to own iP rights to this item.

The item is a generic electrical good made in china and is sold by many on ebay but soley him on amazon.

Today i get a message from amazon saying my listing for a different similar item has been removed because i have infringed the IP rights of this seller.

What should i do?

Report to amazon for the threat?

How can i tell them this item is generic and there is no IP owner?

btw this person sticks a sticker of their company logo on the item and uploads it on amazon as if its their product:doh:

Id say technically hes wrong and right , since your adding under his product listing he made your kind of infringing on the time and feedbacks it took to get his product ranking high enough to make good sales , especially since he brands it with his own logo then technically your not selling what he is even if hes just selling the same exact thing with a slapped on logo . i would just create your own product listing with the exact specifications and either leave it generic or make your own logo for yours as well.

Sounds like a smart Marketing guy.

You've been outfoxed.

Amazon takes steps to verify that a person who claims to be an IP owner actually is the owner. So if your similar listing was removed because of this seller, he most likely is the actual IP owner.

He may own something as shallow as the design patent to the item in your country ruling out you selling a product that looks the same. He may own the trademark to the name of what you are calling the item. Or he may hold all the cards and have something as iron clad as an international utility patent.

Just because there are generics of the item being made out China does not mean they have the right to do so or it may be that this seller's patent gives him the exclusive right to the item in your country.

A good example of this is the Iphone 5 lightning adapters. Look at all the generics coming out of china. Legally the only company that can manufacture or sell them is Apple based on there patent.

I would look into his legal rights to the IP and challenge him if he is fraudulently laying claim to the IP rights. Otherwise you are out of luck.

This happens loads on Amazon, although the product might be some generic Chinese item the seller owes the EAN number for the listing.

I've been on both ends of this and amazon will remove your listing if you don't. Best thing to do is get your own EAN numbers to create your own listings

thats why as a rule of thumb i only sell under listings that have atleast 4 or 5 other sellers selling it , may mean more competition but you can rest assured that if you post a product under a listing with a good product rank and theres only one person selling it than its because they want it that way .. I gaurentee your not the first person hes run off.

well if this person is just putting a sticker on a general product, you can call up amazon and share this info. you would have to give up your supplier to them and some sort of proof that it is the same item

thats the worst rule of thumb ever. why not be the only seller and set the price for whatever you want?

thats fine and dandy if you want to create your own listings , and by all means it is the way to go in the end. but they take time to work their way up in PR so at first you will recieve little to no sales for a good wile , bandwagoning is the best way to make fast cash right away on a listing that has already built high product rank as you will recieve large sales off the bat , youl just have to put up with whos got the lowest price wars .

Why not make your own UPC and get a product line going? The other seller has been doing some advanced rights tactics - cant blame him

Not true. If the sticker is branded then there is no way for anyone else to legally replicate that product and under the eyes of amazon that would make any competitors products materially different. There is no point wasting time trying to fight this as you will lose and potentially lose your amazon account. Suck it up and move on.

Re: Seller Threatining me with copyright
 

Maybe the manufacturer has no idea that this person is putting a sticker on their product and reselling it. If I put my logo sticker on an iPhone I cant resell it as my own brand

That's because iphone is an apple brand and they would obviously not allow it. The seller states that this is a GENERIC item. There is no problem with branding such an item as long as its not patented by the manufacturer which in this case is highly unlikely. Most would be more than happy for you to brand their products as your own.

The item has no 'original' maker that's why i do not understand the IP rights.

Getting my own EAN is really difficult as i would need to register with the company that creates barcodes.

Luckily i did a google search and found an expired listing for the product!

I should learn from him and use this against this person who only under cuts me and immediately puts up a listing for the same product as me whenever i make a new listing :shocked:

barcodes can be bought online fairly cheap. I buy 10 for £35. If you list on an expired listing then you will not have any control over this should someone else decide to list against you. Get some barcodes and create your own listings. In the long run it is much easier.

The intellectual property can be anything. They could just put it in a bag and brand it with their name. They may even be making it up but this is a battle not worth fighting

I bought 10 UPC codes for $1 each. Sometimes they are only 50 cents. I think it has to do with the logo sticker they are putting on it.

Thanks everyone.

Can anyone PM details on where to get ups barcodes for the UK?

Also if i list my own listing with my own 'company sticker' and brand name on amazon there's no chance someone can report the listing to amazon and get me another 'policy violation'?

My advice is just get off the listing.

I have just had an Amazon account booted for IP infringement. 3 year old account turned over more than 1 million last year and because of 2 -- yes 2 complaints from 'IP Owners' -- for this read other sellers selling unbranded Chinese goods but owning the EAN of the listing, we have been life banned.

Amazon sucks sometimes.

They are making it up that is a guarantee. This product sells like crazy! So if i list myself i can list the same item as long as i put my brand sticker on it? I cannot be reported again if i create the listing?


I've already been banned from the listing. So i cannot list the same product with my own EAN? Wow amazing turn over i don't know how i would have reacted when the ban hammer dropped. I've had more than 2 complaints but im still up- maybe amazon knows the claim is not strong as it was made by a solicitor company! Probably paid by the amazon seller to make the claim for them!

You can definitely list the same product with your own EAN no problem. Just don't use his name

It is going to take awhile to sell them if it is a new listing. Make sure you use every tag word you can think of when you create the listing.

Have you also just been reinstated?