The online marketplace has changed the current scenario broadly. Amazon is one of the others and falls in the preference list of a countless number of people. It is the best platform to start the business as a seller. However, sometimes they have to face Amazon Suspension for Copyright. If you are also going through a similar situation then dial our 24/7 hours available Toll-free number +1-844-444-4171. This will help you to get in touch with Amazon law experts. They are competent enough to guide you for proper management of the account and also offer an instant solution service.
Most Copyright Infringement cases on Amazon are resolved effectively.
Expert Advice: Don’t panic, keep Selling
The more you sell, the more possible that you will one day get a notice through Amazon’s message center informing you that you are in violation of someone’s copyright. The notice will often imply or directly declare that legal action is pending if you don’t remove your listing instantly.
What to do? Savvy independent third-party Amazon sellers know that some of these are all threatened and others are serious but it is tough to tell which is which. Here are few pointers to help you:
This email is coming to you because the rights holder complained to Amazon official who supported their claim. They did this because the complainer was able to confirm that they were the correct holder. They may have done this through Amazon’s brand registry or they may have offered paperwork showing they own the rights.
Amazon won’t get involved in the clash or prove the genuineness of their claim – merely that they provided adequate paperwork to indicate they have a claim. They leave it to you to work it out with the correct holder.
2. Did you create the listing? If you formed the listing and used pictures or descriptions from the producer, off of eBay or anywhere squirreled away on the internet you most possibly did violate copyright if you didn’t get express authorization to use these pictures and description. If you did NOT make the listing but are merely piggybacking on it, then you can clarify that to the complainer and help fix the listing.
3. What is the brand? Some brands are very aggressive in caring their rights on Amazon.com. If you are promoting a name brand, then you are more possible to get a fake claim before copyright infringement. Why? Because they are quicker and simpler than going through Amazon legal. However, if you have a large brand breathing down your neck, you are most likely not going to win.
4. How aggressive is the complainer? We’ve seen some really aggressive letters from private label companies sent straightly through the platform to our clients. They don’t go through Amazon legal because they are hoping to threaten sellers off their listings without the added expense and the comparatively slow process. These claims are the ones that give sellers the most pain because they don’t know what to do or how seriously to take the claim. The other seller could be complete of…it and a complete fake. More on this in a minute.
5. Have you experienced distrustful behavior before this claim? For some of my clients, they’ve detected a pattern before they got this claim. They may have had to fend off fake or counterfeit claims on this ASIN before this latest claim popped up. This is another plan used by sellers to get other sellers off their listings. If you are sure that you have the right to sell this product and are using your own picture and description on the listing, then you must fight. They are using these strategies because they don’t have Amazon’s support behind them. With no Amazon’s support, they are all bark, no bite. All they can do is harassing you.
6. Are you selling a common product on a branded listing? I notice this lot. It is an old area. The original seller who formed the listing may have thought they were securing themselves by putting a brand on their product, but if they didn’t do it properly, then they are selling a common and Amazon will not support them if you take credit on their listing. As long as your product is accurately the same (without the sticker), you can sell on that listing. If, however, the seller has done it properly, then they can kick you off their listing. Take a long look at your product and make confirm that you have listed it appropriately.
Resolve the Claim
Now that you’ve looked at your product and the listing, here’s what you require to do:
1. Contact the rights holder. If the email came from Amazon, act instantly. Send a polite email to the rights holder inquiring: “Can you please share with me how you think we have infringed on your copyright? We are keen to clear up this issue. It was never our aim to infringe on a copyright.” Keep it well-mannered and unclear at first. Notice what the issue is. We regularly find that it is the photo or description – both of which are without difficulty fixed by taking your own photos and re-writing the description.
2. Fix the issue. Once you know what is going on, try to fix the issue. Occasionally it isn’t even you. I’ve had customers who were official sellers of a product get booted off along with all the other sellers. Once they provided a letter to the complainer (usually a lawyer hired by the rights holder or an internal person in charge of brand management) showing they were certified, they were reinstated on that listing instantly.
3. Ignore it. If the letter is coming straightly from different seller rather than Amazon, you may select to ignore it. The merely company on Amazon that can really hurt you is Amazon. If they are not supporting this claim, then it may be a trick. At the very least, they cannot kick you out off the listing. More on this later.
5. Fight back. If the email you got is not from Amazon and you are getting nowhere with your well-mannered approach, then you may be dealing with a crook who is doing this as a method to threaten or tie you up. Even if the letter came through Amazon, if the complainer is not answering to you, then you will finally have to inform Amazon if you want to sell on the listing again.
1. They offensively used Amazon’s platform to converse with you
2. You suspect that they decisively made straw purchases and returned them with “counterfeit” or “inauthentic” claims to boot you off the listing.**
1. This was a manipulation of the policy.
2. You recently proved to Amazon that your product was genuine and instantly after, you got this letter claiming copyright infringement.
1. Supported: If the complainer is not getting back to you after a week of attempting (start with email so Amazon can see that you tried, and then call them), then you can directly complain to Amazon that this may be a tactic on the part of the complainer. As above, be well-mannered in all your communications. If you choose to file a policy violation against the so-called rights holder:
1) Focus on what you have done to solve the issue (3 emails, 3 calls, closed the listing…etc.) and how much time you provide it (at least a full week).
2)You suspect this may be a tactic rather than a legal claim by a rights holder because they are not answering even when you called them straightly (or maybe you can’t find their phone number/website…that’s suspicious, too)
1)You recently confirmed to Amazon that your product was genuine (if you did) and shortly after, you got this letter claiming copyright infringement.
** If they purchase the product and keep it, they are more possibly to be legal and serious. This is permitted by Amazon. It is the customers who buy and return and who never planned to keep the product who are violating policy.
In all circumstances of filing a policy violation, you will not get an answer back from Amazon. They never expose the results of their investigations. Although you may find the claim is abruptly dropped and – as happened in one of our cases – the other seller is unexpectedly suspended/gone from the platform.
The most puzzling copyright infringement claim is the one that isn’t coming from Amazon. While several see this as a black & white issue (no Amazon support, ignore), I don’t. I’ve noticed too many of my clients fall victim to shady policy like bogus inauthentic and fake claims made by a quarrelsome and hostile competitor when they ignored the initial letter. These claims can harm you, tie up your listing and cost you money. They can lead to your account being suspended which will harm you a lot.
I suggest at least one polite email from you inquiring them to provide evidence of their claim and to be clear as to what part of the listing