Inillectual Property Violation over material, not brand
Hello!
We make baby blankets. One of the materials we use is called minky. It is a soft material, not a brand. We also use cotton & nylon materials, but the most popular are the minky blankets. We've been hit with Intellectual Property Violations and our account is at risk of termination unless we remove the word "minky" from all titles and descriptions. When we appealed, we were told that there is a brand registered on Amazon named "Minky Homecare" and they sell ironing boards, etc. We lost the appeal because describing our minky blankets as minky blankets steals the intellectual naming rights from this other business. ??? They said we can still sell our product, just not say it was made with minky or use that word in the title. Lunacy.
So if I start a company named "Cotton Homecare" no one else on Amazon will ever be able to sell a cotton shirt and call it a cotton shirt? What if I name it "Wood Homecare"? Will one will allowed to sell anything on Amazon made of wood?
Anyone have advice on this one?
Inillectual Property Violation over material, not brand
Hello!
We make baby blankets. One of the materials we use is called minky. It is a soft material, not a brand. We also use cotton & nylon materials, but the most popular are the minky blankets. We've been hit with Intellectual Property Violations and our account is at risk of termination unless we remove the word "minky" from all titles and descriptions. When we appealed, we were told that there is a brand registered on Amazon named "Minky Homecare" and they sell ironing boards, etc. We lost the appeal because describing our minky blankets as minky blankets steals the intellectual naming rights from this other business. ??? They said we can still sell our product, just not say it was made with minky or use that word in the title. Lunacy.
So if I start a company named "Cotton Homecare" no one else on Amazon will ever be able to sell a cotton shirt and call it a cotton shirt? What if I name it "Wood Homecare"? Will one will allowed to sell anything on Amazon made of wood?
Anyone have advice on this one?
0 replies
Seller_J46Ruz3VzvWCV
I believe the main issue is your use of "Minky" at the beginning of the title, which implies the brand.
You should be able to use "made from minky" in the title. Example would be: {brand} Baby Blanket Made From Minky, Navy Blue
Without seeing the original notice/statement form Amazon/Account Health Violation and then your exchanges with Amazon it's hard to advise much.
JMO
Seller_uPDwRIXWBNoBb
We have currently been running into these same types of violations. request a call as an account related issue. Give them a specific sku or ASIN number that it affects and ask them to walk you through the proper verbiage they expect you to use. This call will take you about an hour but be patient and someone should be able to help you. See if you can speak with a catalog specialist. It is annoying but stick with it. Make sure to let them know you need the verbiage needed to relay that minky is the material not a brand.
Seller_mGWoqAZvKQxvf
I am puzzled anyways. This brand seems to be pending registration and it is a design mark not a word mark meaning that the "minky" word is only protected for the prospective trademark owner against potential infringers provided that the "design" (not the word!) is being used with no permission from the owner. @Seller_57ozbUkHb2MAw can you confirm if the below mark is in question?
Emet_Amazon
Hello @Seller_57ozbUkHb2MAw,
Thank you for posting your concerns with an intellectual property violation.
I believe the main issue is your use of "Minky" at the beginning of the title, which implies the brand.
You should be able to use "made from minky" in the title. Example would be: {brand} Baby Blanket Made From Minky, Navy Blue
As mentioned by @Seller_J46Ruz3VzvWCV, you should be able to use this in the title however it will need to be accurately described and with proper placement. You can review our trademark: FAQ help page for an example:
[Your Product’s Brand Name] + [Product Name] + "for"/”compatible with”/”fits”/”intended for” + [Brand of Main Product] + [Main Product Name] + (other product title elements, if applicable)
Although this is not a compatibility situation, as noted other elements, need to be placed properly at the end, and described properly as @Seller_J46Ruz3VzvWCV mentions.
I do also want to make sure your situation was resolved? Were you able to update your listings to remove the violations? If you still need more guidance on the situation, I would ask that you provide any related case ID, and the ASIN you're experiencing issues with.
The forums community and I are here to support you. Please let us know how we can help you from this point forward.
Emet.
Seller_MxKmEig5OxxiU
Interesting topic, peaking my curiosity...
I think your issue is with the word "minky", not with "minky homecare".
I searched the USPTO trademark database and found "minky" has two active registered trademarks, each having somewhat different goods and services classes. The IP violation comes from someone else's use of that word creating customer/brand confusion.
I am not an attorney, but my experience with trademarks and sellers violating my trademark IP tells me that there is not much of chance on winning an appeal. The best I could suggest would be to generate some very compelling material description that you an use in place of "minky".
I hope the input helps...
Kevin
Seller_lCX40xAkSs1xm
Make sure not to use "STRONG" in your titles either. It is among the tens of thousands of terms that the Amazon bots are about to rain pain down upon!
Seller_9TeQa6npghfEc
This can be overcome. You need to provide a copy of the dictionary definition along with the USPTO website saying that words can not be trademarked in their usual meaning. However, I would check if minky is a trademark as the material itself seems to be a brand according to Cambridge dictionary.
As usual, you will need multiple back and forths with SS but when you escalate enough, they will fix.
I have done this multiple times in the past.
Seller_HjfyVYcuJdbTf
Have you tried contacting Minky brand and getting their help? The one who has the Trademark.
The trademark does not legally protect the name from being used in any kind of product. This is an Amazon hard-headed mistake but it might be faster to get written permission/letter from Minky
Seller_rULDKgejE8e29
There seem to be a lot of minky fabric products on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/super-soft-minky-fabric/s?k=super+soft+minky+fabric
Maybe you can show this link to them.
Seller_SJRMV3s4mNrFA
So, the estate of Charles Schultz needs to get on the ball and shut down Peanut M&M's, etc...
Let's get real, Amazon is beginning to circle the drain because of idiocy. So what if they are big...so was Sears, Montgomery Ward, etc...But they made stupid decisions such as this...
