Nowadays, Amazon is on account suspension spree and the key reason behind this rampant increase in notices is Brand Infringement or Intellectual Property Complaint. (I got notices on my eight listings in the past month only).
As an Amazon seller, you have to understand that intellectual property claims are complex and may shut down your entire online business completely.
Table of Contents
- What is Amazon Intellectual Property
- Sample E-mail (Seller Account Suspension Notice) From Amazon
- Reason of Increase in Intellectual Property Complaints Against Amazon Sellers?
- Difference Between Listing Suspension & Account Suspension
- What Happens If Another Seller Files IP Complaint Against You?
- How To Deal With Amazon Intellectual Property Claims?
- How To Re-open Suspended Account
- Conclusion
What Is Amazon Intellectual Property?
Amazon intellectual property can be divided into four parts – Trademarks, Copyright, Design Patents, and Utility Patents. In non-legal terms, these are usually known as Rip-off, Bootlegging, Knock-Off, and Counterfeit.
| Types of Property Rights | Valid for | Apply to | Type of Infringement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trademark | Date till items are sold or protected | Symbols and terms, such as brand names and logos | Rip-off (Misleading the customer) |
| Copyright | Several decades after the author’s death | Creative work like paintings, photos, songs, movies, & books | Bootlegging |
| Design patents | 14 years | Non-functional designs | Knock-offs |
| Utility patents (patents for invention) | 20 years | Functionality affecting design features | Counterfeiting |
Sample E-mail (Seller Account Suspension Notice) From Amazon
Below is the notice of Amazon seller account suspension due to Intellectual Property Complaint:
Dear Seller, Thank you for talking with us about your Amazon selling account. As we discussed, there have been some issues with your account related to intellectual property infringement. Why is this happening? Amazon does not allow listings that violate the intellectual property rights of brands or rights owners. To learn more, please review Amazon’s Intellectual PropertyPolicy (Amazon URL). Amazon previously alerted you of these issues by emailing you the warnings listed below: What’s next? Send a plan of action that explains: -- Proof of authenticity (e.g., invoice, Order ID, letter of authorization, licensing agreement or court order) for infringing listings -- The steps you have taken to ensure that you are no longer infringing and will not infringe in the future -- Other relevant information -- Supporting details should you believe the notice was submitted in error or the notices are incorrect How do I send the required information? Please submit your plan and supporting product documentation by responding to this email from your case log in Seller Central at this link (Amazon URL). What happens if I do not send the requested information? If we do not receive the requested information within 72 hours, your account will be deactivated and funds will not be transferred to you but will stay in your account while we work with you to address this issue. We’re here to help If you have questions about this policy or information requested above, please contact us at (Amazon URL). The Account Health Support team is available to discuss your account performance 7 days a week, from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. IST. Additionally, please find assistance creating a plan of action at (Amazon URL). You can view your account performance at (Amazon URL) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device. Your Account Health shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you,
Reason of Increase in Intellectual Property Complaints Against Amazon Sellers?
Amazon never monitors or bother about any intellectual property infringement until and unless it has been reported to it. It always tries to protect IP rights of brands or other authorized owners.
Amazon provides rights to the owner of the brands to file a complaint if they feel a product is counterfeit or inauthentic. It takes strict action against you if you violate intellectual property standard without knowledge.
Amazon will send you a warning notice of intellectual property complaint highlighting either Listing Suspension or Account Suspension.
It will remove your selling privileges without considering whether the complaints are legit or merely an attempt by other sellers to eliminate you from the competition.
This is a big loophole in the Amazon systems that most of the sellers used against each other to suspend other sellers from Amazon.
Difference Between Listing Suspension & Account Suspension
There are mainly two types of suspension under intellectual property complaint on Amazon.
Listing Suspension
A listing suspension means that you are not allowed to sell specifically one or two product.
Account Suspesion
Account suspension is pretty straight forward that you are not anymore allowed to sell on Amazon or conduct any sales.
You should not be worried about listing suspension of the product for which complaint has been filed if only your inventory is low or the product doesn’t sell a lot. You can simply remove those listings to keep yourself safe. But remember, two or more intellectual property complaints may lead to seller account suspension.
What Happens If Another Seller Files IP Complaint Against You?
God forbid if someone files an IP complaint against you. The moment your competitor or rightful owners reports Amazon for the violations of IP, your account will either be suspended or your product listings will be removed right away.
Now, it becomes your responsibility to get your account to reopen which is quite difficult and takes way too long for most of the sellers.
The worst part is that your selling privileges will be removed and your money will be frozen during this time.
How To Deal With Amazon Intellectual Property Claims?
There are primarily two ways to deal with intellectual infringement complaints:
Reach Out To Seller or Company
At the very first point, try to contact the seller or brand owner who filed the allegations. Generally, many companies are part of the Amazon Brand Registry program or have registered intellectual property.
Majority of the intellectual property complaints on Amazon are absolutely baseless. These complaints are either filed by the brand owner or other sellers. So, I recommend you to reach out to them to resolve the issue.
Reclaim Your Account Back Online
In most of the cases, the allegation is invalid that means there is difference between rights of brand owners and re-sellers. However, sometimes your account doesn’t violate the trademark rights at all. It’s easy to handle these Amazon account suspension or blocked listings online.
In fact, sometimes customers file the complaints against you as the product appears to be very much “similar” to other products. This may be true but that is not enough to claim the IP infringement.
You can resolve their complaint by proving that your product is unique and not violating any intellectual property rights.
How To Re-open Suspended Account?
In order to reopen seller account, you need to submit a detailed Plan-Of-Action or Letter of Appeal to Amazon with all the asked details and steps you have taken to avoid the same in future.
You can download a tried & tested version of POA for Intellectual Property Complaint shared below:
Sample Plan-of-Action (POA) / Letter of Appeal (Free Download)
👉Click here to Download Plan-Of-action (POA)/Letter of Appeal for Intellectual Property Complaints
Amazon-POA-Intellectual-Property-Complaints👉Click here to Download Plan-Of-action (POA)/Letter of Appeal for Intellectual Property Complaints
Conclusion
As an Amazon seller, our top most priority is to keep our selling account alive and active. Though, we can ignore one or two intellectual property claim specifically for listings only or products that are selling low in volume.
But, to avoid account suspension in this case, it’s best to reach out to the right owners and discuss the matter to avoid any complications.
To know more about seller account suspension and other major reasons, read 👉 How to reopen suspended seller account – A Complete Guide
——– If you still have any concern regarding Amazon or any other Digital Marketing strategies, ASK THE QUESTION in the comments below ——–
Hello,
Your Amazon selling account will remain deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you, but will be held in your account while we work with you to address this issue. Please ship any open orders to avoid further impact to your account.
Why did this happen?
One or more of your listings may be infringing the intellectual property rights of others and the appeal you provided did not adequately address the intellectual property infringement.
We’re here to help.
If you need help better understanding what is causing this, please search for “Intellectual Property Violations” in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.amazon.in/gp/help/external/201361070).
How do I reinstate my account?
Please provide one of the following:
— Proof of product authenticity (e.g., invoice, Order ID, or letter of authorization). It must clearly prove that your products do not infringe on the intellectual property of the rights owner.
OR
A plan of action with the following:
— Greater detail on the root cause(s) of the infringement.
— Greater detail on the actions you have taken to resolve the complaint.
— Greater detail on the steps you have taken to prevent infringement going forward.
— Greater detail on how your account has complied with our policy.
— Greater detail on evidence or examples that demonstrate that your account has complied with our policy.
Has your account been deactivated in error?
If you believe there has been an error, please tell us why. Your explanation should include the following information:
— How your listings have not violated the brand’s intellectual property.
Where do I send this information?
Please submit this information by clicking the Appeal button on Account Health (https://sellercentral.amazon.in/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_mpa).
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
Please ship any open orders. This usually takes about 90 days. Depending on your account status and activities, you may be required to complete an additional review before funds can be released. Amazon may withhold payments if we determine that your account was used to sell inauthentic or prohibited goods, commit fraud, or engage in other illegal or abusive activity.
You can view your account performance (https://sellercentral.amazon.in/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_mpa) 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/id794141485
— Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en
————————————-
Complaint type: TrademarkComplaintCounterfeit
ASIN: B08BYD2J68
B09185PBGP
B0827GQTL7
B0827H5TMR
B0827GYDP4
B0827HBX74
Sincerely, Project Zero Team Amazon.in
Please help me sir family problem please.
We once owned a jewelry account. But we had suspended it, so we opened another account without closing the account completely.
The old account is completely closed and the data is also deleted but to activate the new account we want to appeal the plan of action. Please help.
Hi Sapan,
Already replied on email.
Thanks,
Aftr send POA still my account is not get active bcoz of not hving required doc.
Plz check the mail i recive agn frm amazon n help me plz sir.
Dear Zaid khan/ExclusiveAlmaas,
We received your submission but do not have enough information to reactivate your ability to sell on Amazon at this time. Please address the following concern(s):
We’ve reviewed your appeal and see that there is no documentation attached.
Please respond to this email with copies of invoices, receipts, contracts or delivery orders from your supplier.
You are offering items that may be inauthentic. A list of these items is provided below.
Please send us the following information:
— Copies of invoices, receipts, contracts, delivery orders, or authorization letters from your supplier issued in the last 365 days. The quantity of items shown should match your inventory.
— If you are not the brand owner, provide an authorization letter and a complete set of documentation, including authorization letters, to prove a valid supply chain.
— If you are the brand owner, provide a copy of the brand registration certificate, and business license or personal identity card.
— Contact information for your supplier, including name, phone number, address, email, and website.
You can send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered. We may call your supplier to verify the documents. You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible. We will maintain the confidentiality of your supplier contact information.
Please also send us the following information:
A plan that explains:
— The reason you are listing products that you are not approved to sell
— Steps you have taken to resolve this issue
— How you will prevent this issue in the future
Here are a few things to consider as you work on resolving this:
— Listing: Is the product accurately described on Amazon? Have you ensured that there is no ambiguity and the customer is well informed?
— Packaging: Is the product in its original packaging as listed on Amazon?
When creating your plan, be clear, concise, and as specific as possible. Focus on the facts and events that led to the issue rather than providing an introduction of your product, business, or customer. Remove other questions or references to ongoing support cases from your submission.
————————————-
ASIN: B07988JW3G
Brand: Makeup Revolution
Title: Makeup Revolution Re-loaded palette – Iconic Fever (Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette)
ASIN : B0852ZLWJY
Brand : Spawake
Title: Spawake Anti Aging Face Serum with Vitamin E, Age Solution Intensive Serum, 30ml
ASIN : B09F6TS5P5
Brand : Morphe
Title : Morphe Original James Charles Artistry Palette – 39 Eyeshadows and Pressed Pigments – Crazy Colorful, Deeply Pigmented Shades – Matte, Metallic, and Shimmer shades
————————————-
How do I send the required information?
Please submit your appeal by following the instructions on the Account Health page in Seller Central (https://sellercentral.amazon.in/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_pq)
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information, you may no longer sell on Amazon.
We’re here to help
You can get help creating your plan in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.amazon.in/gp/help/200370560). You can see your balance and settlement information in the Payments section of Seller Central. If you have questions about those, please write to payments-investigate@amazon.in.
You can view your account’s performance at (https://sellercentral.amazon.in/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_pq) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS (https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/amazon-seller/id794141485?mt=8) or Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en_in) device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.
Abuse Escalations, Customer Trust and Partner Support
Hi Zaid,
Amazon has become extremely strict now and it is rare that Amazon will reinstate the account if you can not approve that you were selling authentic products and share all the required documents.
Only way is to submit a strong POA explaining the following in detail:
— The reason you are listing products that you are not approved to sell
— Steps you have taken to resolve this issue
— How you will prevent this issue in the future
I cannot comment on why your POA was rejected since I have not seen it. You can mail the POA to me at amazingmarketer24@gmail.com Once I see the POA, then I may be able to share insights regarding the same.
If you require a professionally written POA from me or my team, you can follow the process here https://amazingmarketer.in/services/suspended-amazon-seller-account-reinstatement
we need sample POA Intellectual Property Complaints. I do not even have a authorization letter but i have invoice of product .
Hi Look Plus,
Sample POA is already available for download above, at the end of the article.
Also, if you have printed invoices from authorized supplier, you can prove that the products were authentic. However, if you do not have the brand authorization letter, then it is still an intellectual property violation.
And best would be try and contact the brand owner or the person who has filed a complaint and request them to retract their complaint.
Once you have done that, then submit a POA explaining everything, why you made this violation, how you have rectified it and what you will do in future to prevent such issues from happening.
All The Best
Hy sir, same problem got(intellectual property) it ,i have try to contact them by mail, but he is not response for this. plz help………for this problem that how to remove this complaints.
Hello sorabh ji
my Amazon account is deactivated Due to Received Intellectual Property Complaints.
Please Help me.
Thanks and regards
Komal
Hi Komal,
Apologies for delayed reply. Hope you have already found the solution.
If not, kindly forward the suspension mail at amazingmarekter24@gmail.com and I will try to suggest a solution based on that.
All The Best,
Hello Sorabh ji
my Amazon account has been suspended due to compliance policy violation.
I need your help. I would be grateful.
Thanks and regards
Komal
Dear Sir,
I face one complaint against me Intellectual Property Complaints reason “Design Right” Infringement
So please help me.
GOOD MORNING SIR,
My Amazon Account is suspended. I received a mail from Amazon. I need to submit a plan of action. Please advice me for the same.
Dear Seller,
Greetings from Amazon.
This mail is to inform you that we have suppressed your offer for the ASINB07P54JSQ9 due to the negative reviews received from verified customers.
Title:BRAND.COM Compatible for VIVO V15 PRO Fast Charging HIGH Speed Mobile Data Cable
Website: https://www.amazon.in/dp/ B07P54JSQ9
Customer Reviews: ———————-
i got empty parcel|sad
Thuuuuuuu…|Thuuuuuuuu……|Very bad quality
dont buy this product.utter waste|Data cable
———————-
Based on these reviews, we request you to provide the below information so that we can review the offer for reinstatement:
1. Check if there is any quality issue in your existing inventory and confirm
2. Provide a Plan Of Action to avoid such instances in future.
Awaiting your response.
Thank you,
Hi Vichitra,
I would advise you to close the listings first. And then submit a Plan of Action to Amazon explaining the following:
1. The issues in your product that caused such negative reviews
2. How you will prevent such complaints in future
Include that you have removed the listings and will be investigating the issue further.
Also, if you have responded to these customers and resolved the issue, then you may mention that as well.
You need to convince Amazon that you have taken steps to prevent any of such issue in future with any of your listings.
Sir my accuunt is suspended
Ples reactive my account
Hi Yagnik,
Reply has been shared on mail. Kindly check if you have not checked it already.
Hello Dear Sir My Amazon Account Is suspended reason hai
Potential intellectual property misuse
help me sir please
Hi Abdul,
Kindly forward the suspension mail received from Amazon at amazingmarketer24@gmail.com
what will i do for reactive my account
deactivate reason – intellectual property
same isuue please help me
I want your professional support to activate my account …
Hi Sonam,
Please follow the process at https://amazingmarketer.in/services/suspended-amazon-seller-account-reinstatement
Dear Sir
mere account pr iski complain hai Product Authenticity Complaints
two asin toh open ho gye 4 asin blocked hai or mera account suspend hai reactivate ke liye ka kru
Hi Pintu,
Kindly forward the account suspension mail received from Amazon and POA submitted by you (if any) to amazingmarketer24@gmail.com
Hello Sir please Send POA my Account As Risk Due to Received Intellectual Property Complaints Please Help me
Hi Dhaval,
Kindly download the sample POA given above in the article and modify as per your details before submitting.
If you require a professionally written POA from me or my team, you can follow the process here https://amazingmarketer.in/services/suspended-amazon-seller-account-reinstatement
All The Best
My account is suspended due to copy infringement, kindly suggest me for further action or contact me.
Regards,
Tejveer Singh
M. 9899122054
Hi Tejveer,
Kindly share the suspension mail received from Amazon at amazingmarketer24@gmail.com
Hello Sir,
Many seller mapped my listing i send letter to all but no one remove please help what can i do
Hi Priya,
Kindly share the ASIN of the listing. Also, need more information:
Is the product generic or branded?
If branded, is it your own brand?
hello sir
i need POA for my acount is suspend. i m new in online seller. that way i dont know about the rual. i m share my prize on a brand product. and that brand proson is repot my acount. and my acount is suspend. i need help. i dont now what to do.
Hi Deepak, Kindly forward the suspended mail received from Amazon at amazingmarketer24@gmail.com
hello sir
I need poa for Product Policy Compliance.please help i need help .
my email id is neelmkumari0600@gmail.com
i face one complaint against me Intellectual Property Complaints reason Infringement from brand 123 my question is that i check ukipo 123 trade mark register in class 9,25 but he file complaint against product which is class 10 in trade marks then what i need to do
Hi Awais, You have to submit the POA for your actions, you cannot challenge other sellers claim. You can’t prove them wrong. You have to prove yourself right. GOOD LUCK ??
Dear sir i have sent the POA yet my account is still suspended and not get any response. My POA was :-
Dear Team Amazon,
We are really thankful for the response which we have got for our plan of action.
GREATER DETAILS ON THE ROOT CAUSES AND ACTIONS WHICH WE HAVE TAKEN FOR RESOLVING COMPLAINTS:
Root Cause Analysis:
We only sell products which are genuine and procured with proper GST invoices. We procure products in bulk so at times we get bulk packing which is different from retail packing. At times customer don’t find the manufacturer label or tag with packing, but the product is totally authentic and genuine. This causes some customer to raise concern about product authenticity.
We procure all products with proper GST invoices in new and original condition.
Steps we are taking to resolve the complaint:
1. All current stock in inventory is physically double checked in storage to make sure they are 100% free from defects.
2. We have proper and genuine GST invoices and authorization documents for all the products which we are procuring from authentic suppliers and importers.
3. In future, we will not procure in bulk packing, so that customer would not feel that they have got inauthentic products. We usually take all the precautionary measures in advance itself so that our customer remains happy with the product.
4. The additional steps taken are that we have made sure that the stocks we buy are of the latest batch number so that the customer gets a product which is recently packed.
5. REGULAR INVENTORY REVIEW / MONITORING: We have implemented a process which will be held every week in which review of inventory and listings would be done, so that in future no listings complaint would ever occur on our account.
6. Items will be carefully tested in all aspects. Following Check Points we had made:
i. Procuring Stage Check
ii. Warehouse Check
iii. Packing Stage Check
iv. Final Check
7. We have re-verified all of our supplier and their stocks.
8. We have updated our packaging for products and now packing is as accordance to Amazon condition guidelines.
Details how we will prevent similar complaints:
a. To avoid this we have also read the guidelines of Amazon listing conditions.
b. We have upgraded our packing so that product would go intact to customer. We have decided to procure Amazon
Hi Saurabh,
Just saw your query. It had somehow landed in the spam folder.
Is your account still suspended? When did you submit the POA?
Hi sir,
we need sample POA for Apologies letter for seller. we have mapped other seller product and want to write apologies letter to seller perhaps he would draw his claim of policy violation.
Request you sir please send a letter so we can send to seller.
best regards!
Sriram
Hi Sri Ram,
You can reach out to other sellers with normal email mentioning your apology. But do remember one thing, most of the sellers claim for policy violation to eliminate competition and these sellers themselves use listings of other sellers. Also, your complain has already been submitted into Amazon systems so only seller performance team can reinstate your account. So, I would recommend you to analyse the fault and write an effective Plan-of Action to Amazon seller performance team. ALL THE BEST !!