As an online seller you will most likely receive an Amazon trademark infringement at some point in time. Sometimes you will receive an Amazon trademark infringement or other type of IP infringement even when you purchased your inventory from a licensed distributor. The reason why you received the trademark complaint may not have anything to do with a trademark violation. Instead, the brand may have filed the complaint because you did not adhere to the terms of the distribution agreement.
MAP: Minimum Advertised Price
Distributors and manufacturers agree to a MAP which is short form for a Minimum Advertised Price. This is the minimum price that a reseller can sell at. For example, I recently had a client who was selling gaming accessories on a $150 product. He set his price one dollar below the MAP as a way to undercut the competition. He then received an Amazon trademark infringement from the brand and his account was suspended. Manufacturers set a MAP in order to protect their brand. They do not want heavy discounting of their products. Once a consumer sees a pair of shoes selling for $50 instead of $100 it is difficult for that consumer to pay full price. Luxury brands are famous for disposing of unsold inventory rather than discounting their products. The luxury brands want to maintain the image of exclusivity and discounted purses and watches destroys that image.
Now we all know that Amazon only cares about low prices. MAP agreements are not in their interests. If a manufacturer tries to assert an MAP, Amazon will ignore their request. There is a large body of case law that states that MAP agreements are not enforceable against parties that did not sign the agreements. A reseller did not sign the MAP agreement. It was signed by the distributor. Since MAP agreements are generally not enforceable, brand holders file trademark infringements.
Get an Amazon Lawyer
If you receive an Amazon trademark infringement you should retain the services of an Amazon lawyer. The lawyer will pressure the the rights holder to file a retraction notice of their complaint.
80% of the time the brand withdraws the baseless complaint after they receive a polite request from the lawyer. 10% of the time, the brand either ignores the letter or refuses to issue a retraction. At this point the brand will be asked to lay out their entire claim. After some back and forth, the complaint is withdrawn. Lastly, 10% of the complaints become contentious and the brand is made aware that they may be liable for seller damages.
Retraction Notice for Amazon Trademark Infringement
Once the complainant agrees to retracting the Amazon trademark infringement, they need to send an email to Amazon where they admit to being in error.
Usually the complainant is supplied with an email template.
“Dear Complainant,
Thank you for agreeing to withdraw the Amazon trademark infringement. For your convenience, I have created an email that you can copy and email to: notice-retraction@amazon.com. Please CC me once you send this email.”
Here is an example of an email that rights holder might send to Amazon.
“Dear Amazon,
I, (Name of Complainant), president of (Company Brand ) Inc. hereby withdraws the intellectual property right complaint previously asserted against:
Seller Name: ____________
Seller ID: ___________
ASIN: _____________________
Infringement Type: Counterfeit
Trademark asserted: ___________
Complaint ID: ____________
Please reinstate the suspended account as the complaint was made in error.
Sincerely,
Name of Complainant
Name of Brand”
Amazon Reinstates Your Account
The retraction notice is then accompanied with your Plan of Action. Usually, Amazon reinstates selling privileges quickly once a brand has withdrawn their complaint.
Other times, you receive the dreaded “more information” email. This is where Amazon asks for more information but does not specify what information they are looking for.