Amazon Complaints (Travis Stockman) - a podcast by Michael Veazey

Travis Stockman from Amazon Sellers Lawyer talks about what happens when sellers on Amazon get allegations of intellectual property infringement and suffer from Amazon complaints.





The number 1 Reason for Amazon Complaints

The majority of Amazon complaints are general intellectual property complaints that don't specify copyright or trademark. If Amazon finds any consideration of IP, the seller is taken down without the complaint being vetted. They are usually an attempt by the right's owner to enforce who can and can't sell the product.  When you create the listing you are able to use the images and description because you are joining an existing listing that the right's owner created. This usually doesn't count as an intellectual property issue.



What often happens is when someone gets a complaint, the Amazon Seller's Office contacts the right's owner and it turns out to be about distribution. When this correspondence is shown to Amazon's Notice Dispute Team, the listing is often reinstated right away.



Let's say I own 'Mike's Magic Mugs' and I want to be the only person selling on Amazon. But someone else starts selling the same product on Amazon. So I make an Amazon Complaint and say that I own the IP on the mug. This is actually a distribution issue and not an intellectual property issue.

First Right's Law

In the US there exists the First Right's Law. This states that if you have this original product, in its original packaging, unopened, and with everything that came with it, you have the right to resell it. There needs to be something different about the product in order for this not be about distribution.



Many complaints are based on the fact that the warranty is not included with the product. If there is a discrepancy between the products, such as the warranty is not valid if you are not an authorized seller, then that can create a difference that could lead to an IP issue. However, it would need to be proven.



Amazon has no 'gatekeeper' that evaluates IP complaints. Therefore a lot of complaints that have little basis get though and having a lawyer helps with that.

Copyright Infringement

The person who creates the listing has, according to Amazon policy, granted everybody who joins that listing the right to use the image and description. That does not constitute copyright infringement. If you create your own listing and use that image and that description then that becomes copyright infringement.

Trademark Infringement

Sometimes in a listing, there are mentions of another product due to that product being compatible. This does not constitute trademark infringement. An example would be printer ink cartridges or toner that are compatible with HP printers.



If however, a listing of a pair of unbranded trainers wanted to increase ranking and views by using a reference to Nike, this would constitute a trademark infringement. If a trademark is used for descriptive use, that is not trademark infringement. But if it used as a commercial use, such as to increase ranking, that is trademark infringement.

Patent Infringement

To dispute a claim of patent infringement, there need to be clear differences between the two patents. If it is a utility patent, purely talking about the functionality, you would need to find something that shows the functionality is different and that makes it a different product.



The most frequent Amazon complaints involving patents occurs when a rights owner files an Amazon complaint. Then, all members of that listing receive the complaint and not just the brand owner. In this case, Travis will talk to the rights owner and point out that the seller did not create the product and only joined a pre-existing listing.

Further episodes of Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners, and other e-commerce sellers and digital entrepreneurs.

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