Account Deactivation Due to Design Infringement
Has anybody ever been in this position where there account has been deactivated due to receiving an infringement complaint?
Before I was aware of amazon’s design rights policy and when I was still a new seller, I received an infringement against my account as i was selling a product that 1) I didn’t have design rights for 2) someone else did have design rights for and therefore filed an infringement against me.
4/5 months later, unexpectedly amazon deactivated my account with no warnings. In the email explaining why they gave me instruction on what I need to do to get it reactivated.
After following all these steps, submitting evidence of the root cause and showing what I have now taken measures to prevent this happening again in the future by following all of amazon’s policies and obtaining design rights etc, I still haven’t heard anything back. I submitted all this evidence over two weeks ago nearly 3 weeks, and i cannot contact anyone from amazon myself.
I have over 950 units now stranded that i don’t want to mess around with as I’m confident that my account should be reactivated when amazon finally read all my evidence. I have even obtained a licencing agreement with he design rights holder stating that i am able to sell the design and they have also retracted the infringement against me. Does anyone know how long this usually takes? Or how i can get in contact with the correct person to get this sorted?
Account Deactivation Due to Design Infringement
Has anybody ever been in this position where there account has been deactivated due to receiving an infringement complaint?
Before I was aware of amazon’s design rights policy and when I was still a new seller, I received an infringement against my account as i was selling a product that 1) I didn’t have design rights for 2) someone else did have design rights for and therefore filed an infringement against me.
4/5 months later, unexpectedly amazon deactivated my account with no warnings. In the email explaining why they gave me instruction on what I need to do to get it reactivated.
After following all these steps, submitting evidence of the root cause and showing what I have now taken measures to prevent this happening again in the future by following all of amazon’s policies and obtaining design rights etc, I still haven’t heard anything back. I submitted all this evidence over two weeks ago nearly 3 weeks, and i cannot contact anyone from amazon myself.
I have over 950 units now stranded that i don’t want to mess around with as I’m confident that my account should be reactivated when amazon finally read all my evidence. I have even obtained a licencing agreement with he design rights holder stating that i am able to sell the design and they have also retracted the infringement against me. Does anyone know how long this usually takes? Or how i can get in contact with the correct person to get this sorted?
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
Thanks for this i will give it a go.
Where shall i send this to? shall i do it via opening a new case
170 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Are those units the items you had the complaint about ?
So did you actually buy their stock ?!
But that contradicts this
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
You’ve also registered a design for a standard air fryer liner ?!
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
What are we even talking about when we say design rights on a product sourced from Alibaba? How does a seller in the UK claim “design rights” on an item sourced from there?
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
My understating of design rights in the UK is as follows:
Any design or ‘product’ when dealing with private label can be registered with IPO UK. If i am selling a hair remover for example, and so is another seller, we can both register the design via IPO UK whi h in turn gives us ‘design rights’ and covers our backs.
If then you receive an infringement complaint against you and your product on amazon, but you have design rights dated and published before the infringement, you are covered and once you show your design rights to amazon they will reinstate your listing.
If you don’t have design rights for your product, then you are stuck and the listing will be removed.
So in summary as long as you obtain design rights for anything you want to sell before you start to sell it and it is all approved by IPO UK as a registered design for you to sell, you should be okay and protected against anyone trying to infringe against you. Please anyone comment if i am wrong
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
I’m not getting confused I’m just saying what i have also been told. Bare with me i am going to show my registered design rights for air fryer liners so you can see for yourself
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
I have emailed the rights holder and asked for proof of the retraction
Seller_77IcbQKVGdZo0
So why should they accept you from registering a design that someone else already has registered?
Same principle really…my point is you can’t register a design already registered
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
What is the design right number cited in the violation ?
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
We are not talking about having a patent on a product.
What is the difference between a design right and a patent?
Patent rights protect the function, method or the workings of a thing. Design protects the appearance of a thing . In other words, patents protect ideas and concepts, whereas registered designs protect the look of a certain product or item.
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
6155015 is the number on their design certificate
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
It was in response to talking about Iphones
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
If YOU had designed a brown 8" silicon Air fryer liner and contracted a factory to make it for you, you could apply for a design right
You however, bought them from a factory through alibaba where I can also buy them - is that correct ?
If so, you could have your one in packaging that says Sorcel Ltd and register Sorcel Ltd with the IPO as a Trademark name and I wouldn’t be able to sell my same stock under your brand
You can’t however complain about me selling a brown 8" Air fryer liner branded as TLS , as its not your design to infringe
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
I have already obtained a trademark through IPO UK for my brand SORCEL.
If this is the case, why was this person able to file an infringement against me and get my listing deactivated
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Same classes but yours is a hair remover , theirs a foot file
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
I was actually very unlucky. I obtained and paid for my trademark a day after my listing was infringed against. I just missed the email
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Facebook, YouTube etc have a lot to answer for
If its not RA , its importing
Seller_WIndmNYDp7rQF
oh my days.
ignorance is bliss but not an excuse.
Seller_k6eoEUabo3Exy
Hello @SORCEL_LTD,
This is Noor from Amazon to assist you.
Thanks for providing insight into your current account status. From the posts, it is not clear if you have the design rights for the ASINs flagged.
If you have any proof that can prove that you’ve not violated the design patents rights, you will have to provide valid documents to prove the same.
If you do not have any documentations on this, you will have to appeal for the violation through the appeal button on your account health page. You can also reach out to the Account health support team through the Call me now button.
Do let us know and provide us with a clarity on the same. Also, attach the performance notification related to the violation for us to better understand the situation.
The forums community and I are here to assist you.
Thanks & Regards,
Noor
Seller_vT19TLSPpwDou
The original notification i received is below:
Hello,
Your Amazon selling account has been 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?
We arrived at this decision because we were unable to verify information related to your seller account, or did not receive any new information regarding your listings or selling history.
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 .
How do I reactivate my account?
To reactivate your selling account, please send us the following:
A plan of action that explains:
– The root cause(s).
– The actions you have taken to resolve the notices of infringement or violation of Amazon’s policies.
– The steps you have taken to prevent infringement or violating Amazon’s policies.
For security reasons, we only accept attachments in the following file formats: .jpeg, .jpg, .pjpeg, .gif, .png, .tiff. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.
How do I send the required information?
Submit this information at notice-dispute@amazon.co.uk.
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information, your account will remain deactivated and funds in your account may be held for 90 days or longer. 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 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.
