Received Intellectual Property Complaint - Design Patent
Hi,
We received an intellectual property complaint; “design patent” yesterday and am hoping the team can help guide us on the best next steps. Here is the background:
This is a housewares product that we purchased from a reputable authorized re-seller back in 2018 as part of closeout from the manufacturer. We still have a very small quantity left in stock (7 units to be exact). We did not receive an email notification just the notice inside the performance section of seller central. In checking the ASIN there are still a couple of other sellers selling the item and at a higher price then we were. We also do not know who initiated the complaint. We no longer plan to sell this item in the future as we are moving to only selling items that we manufacture and do not want anything to injure our account health.
So far we contacted customer support who recommended that we email the disputes team for these issues and request a call to discuss the issue live. We have done that and are awaiting a response. What else should we do? We have not appealed it as we believe it is in error and do not plan on selling this product in the future. Can our account be suspended over this?
Thank you so much for your help. It is appreciated.
Seller_3N7yVnTXPzLkL
There are many housewares products made in China which infringe design patents. Some of them have made it into reputable stores.
It is probably not an error, if you have been provided with the patent number.
Seller_hx81JRXVMmKNY
Getting these removed is near impossible. The best route to go is, delete the product from inventory, and just avoid that product. The complaint was against the listing not you as a seller. Therefore anybody who listed under this listing got the same notification in account health. If you didn’t get a red flag I wouldn’t be too concerned in addressing beyond deleting the product from your inventory.
Seller_dMxsa0iKClzHW
Hi, I was given a red flag with an option to appeal. I am still not sure though why two other sellers are still selling the product if this is a patent issue and why we were targeted. I am fine with deleting but want to be proactive to avoid suspension.
Seller_DVtU0nTuCKhig
Hi @StyleE_Deals_Inc,
Arthur here to assist.
I want to give you a sense of direction to address the complaint in your account based on my observations.
The complaint was filed against you by a rights owner who felt that you were in violation of their intellectual property. To get a better understanding of the complaint, and the specifics of intellectual property rights on Amazon I suggest reading the ‘Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers’ page here: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/G201361070
What kind of message did you send to notice-dispute@amazon.com? The standard process would be to submit invoices or proof of purchase documentation in order to disclose where you are sourcing the item in question. When you do send invoices, they need to adhere to these requirements:
– Supplier issued in the last 365 days for the ASINs listed below
– These documents should reflect your sales volume during the last 365 days.
– Please include contact information for your supplier, including name, phone number, address, and website. We will maintain the confidentiality of your supplier contact information.
– You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible. For ease of our review, you may highlight or circle the ASIN(s) under review.
If your documents do not match to the requirements exactly, you will need to explain the reasons why.
If you haven’t heard a response from us yet addressing the message you already sent, I would wait until then to re-evaluate how you want to appeal the complaint next.
In the meantime, make sure to review your account health dashboard and performance notifications to see if there are any other outstanding concerns or metrics negatively impacting your account. If you do not address the complaint(s) in your account, it could lead to potential removal of selling privileges in the future.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Best,
Arthur
