IP Infringement - Case Escalation Rejected
@Jim_Amazon
I called out this issue in the recent Brand Registry Feedback thread: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/bc446c1a-638e-417d-be20-feb1e6cf2346?postId=9d73101f-048b-43a4-8742-37572a0cc899
I made an IP Infringement report against a seller in CASE ID 15302438241 who was selling counterfeit products. My initial infringement report was accepted, and then a few days later, the status changed to "Not Accepted." I placed a test order after submitting the report but the order didn't show up for a week.
Once the order showed up and I confirmed that the inventory was counterfeit, I attempted to escalate the original case.
Escalation CASE ID 15329046381
My escalation case was rejected for the following reason: We reviewed your submission and determined we cannot take further action on this request due to it containing new supporting evidence or new intellectual property information, or targeting new ASINs.
We are dealing with a major influx of counterfeit sellers and I am requesting clarification on the following items to prevent our brand from losing the ability to report these sellers due to cases being rejected:
A.) If we suspect a seller is selling counterfeits, what is the best practice for reporting that seller and having the report accepted? If we are expected to place a test buy and wait for the test buy to arrive before submitting a report, the seller can leave the listing during that time period and then there is no way to report that seller with the Report a Violation tool.
B.) What is the appropriate use case for the Escalate a Previously Submitted Issue case option? Our original case was rejected and our escalation was rejected, and we have concrete proof that they were selling counterfeit products. What's stopping this seller from showing up in our ASINs again?
I appreciate your consideration of this issue.
IP Infringement - Case Escalation Rejected
@Jim_Amazon
I called out this issue in the recent Brand Registry Feedback thread: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/bc446c1a-638e-417d-be20-feb1e6cf2346?postId=9d73101f-048b-43a4-8742-37572a0cc899
I made an IP Infringement report against a seller in CASE ID 15302438241 who was selling counterfeit products. My initial infringement report was accepted, and then a few days later, the status changed to "Not Accepted." I placed a test order after submitting the report but the order didn't show up for a week.
Once the order showed up and I confirmed that the inventory was counterfeit, I attempted to escalate the original case.
Escalation CASE ID 15329046381
My escalation case was rejected for the following reason: We reviewed your submission and determined we cannot take further action on this request due to it containing new supporting evidence or new intellectual property information, or targeting new ASINs.
We are dealing with a major influx of counterfeit sellers and I am requesting clarification on the following items to prevent our brand from losing the ability to report these sellers due to cases being rejected:
A.) If we suspect a seller is selling counterfeits, what is the best practice for reporting that seller and having the report accepted? If we are expected to place a test buy and wait for the test buy to arrive before submitting a report, the seller can leave the listing during that time period and then there is no way to report that seller with the Report a Violation tool.
B.) What is the appropriate use case for the Escalate a Previously Submitted Issue case option? Our original case was rejected and our escalation was rejected, and we have concrete proof that they were selling counterfeit products. What's stopping this seller from showing up in our ASINs again?
I appreciate your consideration of this issue.
0 replies
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX
Amazon does not really like getting into the disputes between two sellers over products and ownership. We have found that the test buy is often a very ineffective method to make a claim. Depending on what the actual product is, the seller who does the test buy may just find out that the product in question as a knockoff, is the actual product they are selling. Expecting Seller Support thru the communication system to get real action, is basically useless.
This method will have the problem sorted out in about 2 weeks. Since you are the branded products actual rights owner, send your USTPO brand registration documentation and your GS1 UPC registration for the product, in a well-crafted letter to Amazon's Legal Office in Seattle, by Certified mail. They can sort that out that you are the actual rights owner and remove others from selling the item. this office has a team that does this work daily. You do not need any lawyer, you are a business owner just protecting your rights, and this department understand that.
Seller_tjI2EZ2b1d5Ml
@Jim_Amazon, any chance I could get some help on this?
JiAlex_Amazon
Hello @Seller_tjI2EZ2b1d5Ml!
My name is JiAlex from the Community Manager team here on forums. I wanted to follow up on your post.
I understand it could be frustrated moment as you are the brand owner, I take a look on case ending 8241, and I notice the reason why the case resolution was updated, is because the report was against an offer, and the moment offer was removed/no longer active on the platform, the case status was changed.
Please keep in mind, if you submit more than one type of IP violation on the same report, the department will only process the specific complaint. Here are some examples:
• Selecting trademark infringement and discussing copyright issues in the submission. The notice will be processed as a trademark complaint only. If you want to report infringement of a trademark and a copyright, file separate notices.
• Indicating two trademark numbers in one notice, as only the first trademark number will be considered for that notice. If you want to report infringement of separate trademarks, file separate notices.
Always make sure you are creating the correct report and try to be as specific as possible, you can see more about this on this help page.
You can see here our report abuse section showing all the specifics type of report and submit individual each one.
The best way to stop these tactics is to report either via Report a Violation in Brand Registry (if the product is sent) or Report Abuse (if the product is not sent). This will allow the teams that own these processes to have visibility into what you are experiencing and as other Sellers are doing the same, a pattern emerges. Action can be taken to fix the immediate issue (note, Amazon will not divulge additional info to the reporting party other than the notice of an approved submission and the offer being taken down). As the pattern repeats, defenses can be built, vetted and launched. Admittedly, this 2nd step does take much time to ensure correctness and scale.
-JiAlex
