Policy Warning - Trademark Infringement
I just got an email about a framed photo I was selling that was the exterior of Old Trafford stadium and apparently it was a trademark infringement. I don’t know how selling a photo of a building is classed as trademark infringement but I’m not going to argue or try to relist it. Do I need to do anything if I’m simply happy that they have deleted it? Email:
Hello, We are contacting you because we received a report of trademark infringement on the product detail page associated with one or more of your listings. Sellers on Amazon.co.uk are not allowed to use trademarked terms in a way that might lead their product to be confused with a different trademarked product. Please modify your product and product detail page to ensure they do not infringe on the trademark of the rights owner listed below. Once this is done, email us at notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk. Examples of unacceptable terms: – “AmazonBasics speaker charging cable.” AmazonBasics is trademarked by Amazon. – “Wireless Amazon speaker for laptop.” Amazon is trademarked by Amazon. – “Cable similar to Pinzon.” Pinzon is trademarked by Amazon, and we prohibit the use of “similar to.” Examples of acceptable terms: – “Cable for charging AmazonBasics speaker.” The cable is not created or sold by Amazon. – “Wireless speaker for laptop, compatible with AmazonBasics.” The speaker is not created by Amazon. – “Basic cable works with Pinzon.” The cable is not sold or created by Pinzon. If you do not provide the information within 90 days, you will receive a request to remove the inventory associated with these listing per our removal policy (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/202000820). Failure to address this request can lead to destruction of your inventory. If you believe your listing was removed in error, you may email notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk with supporting documentation (e.g., letter of authorization, licensing agreement). We consider intellectual property infringement a serious matter. If we receive more complaints about your listings, we may not allow you to sell on Amazon.co.uk. We may restore this content if the rights owner who reported this infringement contacts notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk to retract the claim. The rights owner contact information can be found below. – Brand Protection – brandprotectiononline@manutd.co.uk Learn more about this policy in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/external/201361070). You can learn more about your account health in the Performance section of Seller Central (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_mpa). ASIN: B0BTJBNN9K Title: Old Trafford Manchester United MUFC framed stadium wall art
Policy Warning - Trademark Infringement
I just got an email about a framed photo I was selling that was the exterior of Old Trafford stadium and apparently it was a trademark infringement. I don’t know how selling a photo of a building is classed as trademark infringement but I’m not going to argue or try to relist it. Do I need to do anything if I’m simply happy that they have deleted it? Email:
Hello, We are contacting you because we received a report of trademark infringement on the product detail page associated with one or more of your listings. Sellers on Amazon.co.uk are not allowed to use trademarked terms in a way that might lead their product to be confused with a different trademarked product. Please modify your product and product detail page to ensure they do not infringe on the trademark of the rights owner listed below. Once this is done, email us at notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk. Examples of unacceptable terms: – “AmazonBasics speaker charging cable.” AmazonBasics is trademarked by Amazon. – “Wireless Amazon speaker for laptop.” Amazon is trademarked by Amazon. – “Cable similar to Pinzon.” Pinzon is trademarked by Amazon, and we prohibit the use of “similar to.” Examples of acceptable terms: – “Cable for charging AmazonBasics speaker.” The cable is not created or sold by Amazon. – “Wireless speaker for laptop, compatible with AmazonBasics.” The speaker is not created by Amazon. – “Basic cable works with Pinzon.” The cable is not sold or created by Pinzon. If you do not provide the information within 90 days, you will receive a request to remove the inventory associated with these listing per our removal policy (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/202000820). Failure to address this request can lead to destruction of your inventory. If you believe your listing was removed in error, you may email notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk with supporting documentation (e.g., letter of authorization, licensing agreement). We consider intellectual property infringement a serious matter. If we receive more complaints about your listings, we may not allow you to sell on Amazon.co.uk. We may restore this content if the rights owner who reported this infringement contacts notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk to retract the claim. The rights owner contact information can be found below. – Brand Protection – brandprotectiononline@manutd.co.uk Learn more about this policy in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/external/201361070). You can learn more about your account health in the Performance section of Seller Central (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_mpa). ASIN: B0BTJBNN9K Title: Old Trafford Manchester United MUFC framed stadium wall art
28 replies
Seller_EHYOwAkoZV3Hb
As a matter of interest, did it show the Man U logo or any other trademark?
As far as the infringement is concerned, sorry, I don’t know.
Seller_lyUF34znaGncK
Yeah, it looks like it’s the title, cheers guys.
Seller_saK5Ah2SaNYjL
Football clubs are very precious about their trademarks. West Ham & Chelsea both trademarked the names of their towns. (Not with FC on the end, just the town name). There’s probably plenty of other FCs that have done this. I don’t see how the IPO allow trademarking of town names but they do.
Seller_lyUF34znaGncK
So I have removed all reference to MUFC and Old Trafford in title and description. Do I now click the bottom option? I guess this will affect account health.
Seller_rv8HvOWVigeUM
pretty sure a place name cannot be trademarked fellas - for instance you can use the word chelsea - but not chelsea football club
Seller_sx7iJblTtbU2F
When it comes to Amazon and IP rights they are a law unto themselves it is pointless trying to confirm legitimacy. Far easier to sell on other platforms where if a rights Owner has a problem with what you are selling you can discuss with them and not someone reading from an Amazon rulebook or a computer
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
Some buildings are trademarked, the London Eye comes to mind
“Content where the London Eye is the main focus or subject is not suitable for commercial use, however skyline shots may be acceptable.”
Also have a look at the license that might allow commercial use such as placing the photo in an article which is monetised with ads etc or even use it in a book if the photo is not the main subject. But they might not allow printing or creating products that have the photo as the main focus such as wall art, cards, tshirts and so on. Sometimes you need to buy an extra license to be able to do that. I don’t think Amazon bots are that sophisticated though, they might have just flagged the title. Then again I have seen products sold through Amazon Merch that are clearly IP infringements, therefore the IP policy on Amazon is a complete mess.
Seller_I3E6fQQqOFqlF
I’ve seen buildings trademarked before so it wouldn’t surprise me if ManU have trademarked their stadium, as this image would be an income revenue for them.
Seller_2QH3YDyA0uvTH
It’s not Amazon’s bots that have pulled it - they’ve received an infringement notice from Manchester United. They have trademarked the terms “Old Trafford” “Manchester United” and “MUFC” so any one of those would do it.
As others have mentioned, they shouldn’t really be granted a trademark against the name of a place. If you had a the will and the resource, that would be interesting to challenge, however the other references to the football club are clear cut.
Seller_yE7wQLht2Ut2g
I have had many similar problems. it will most likely be a complaint by a company called red points who monitor online sites for fakes they protect the brands and trademarks of multiple football teams.
If you contact them and can prove that your item is official they will withdraw the complaint and you can sell it again. Although you may have to get them to contact Amazon multiple times before Amazon will remove the complaint. ie this happened to me on the 1st of June on the second of June the complaint was withdrawn in the UK and I am still waiting on Amazon to remove the complaint for the same item on FR IT and ES red point have sent several requests to withdraw the complaint and here 6 weeks later nothing has been done.
