32 (ridiculous) Taylor Swift "suspected" intellectual property violations
Woke up this morning to find 32 suspected intellectual property violations on our account, all apparently relating to the trademark "Swiftie" (which is a trademark owned by Taylor Swift).
Not a single one of these products (all novelty ceramic mugs) has any mention of the trademarked term ANYWHERE on the product or in the listing (including keywords etc.). Furthermore, none of these mugs even remotely relate to Taylor Swift or her brand which is clearly obvious from looking at them.
Many of the mugs do include the word "Taylor" and some contain a variation of the word (such as "Taylr", "Tayler" etc.) since we create mugs that refer to names of cities like "Taylor Falls" or mugs with first names and surnames on them. However, not a single one of these mugs has the word "Swift" or "Swiftie" in them and it is painfully obvious that they do not violate any intellectual property rights. As far as I can tell, Amazon's currently policy must be that Taylor Swift entirely owns and has exclusive rights to the name "Taylor" now which is completely absurd. This would mean that anyone named "Taylor", "Tayler", "Taylr" etc. who wanted to go to Amazon to buy a mug with their name on it or a person who wanted to buy a mug with their hometown on it (like "Taylor Falls") would have to buy a Taylor Swift mug (or nothing at all) which is absolutely insane and an unfair restriction on freedom of commerce.
Now I get to spend the whole day trying to deal with a problem that was created entirely by Amazon so that our selling account doesn't get suspended. Off to a great start as I sat on hold for more than 40 minutes waiting to speak to someone from the account health team (the recording said it was a less than 30 mins wait), only to have Amazon eventually disconnect the call on their end (which has happened so many times over the last couple years that it's not even funny).
To say that I am disappointed, disheartened and frustrated with the way Amazon treats smaller sellers like us would be a giant understatement...
31 replies
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
This one takes the cake. Whoever or whatever accepted the report filed by the TM holder in Brand Registry made a major error.
The Account Health team must be swamped with these types of false positives on Brand Registry ... and increasingly the forum moderators here when sellers can't get answers. Hope someone will spot this and intervene.
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
Maybe THAT is the issue and not "Taylor Swift". You can't just use names of cities like "New York" or "San Fransisco" without an official paper from that towns allowing you to use the name.
Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Good news. After appealing the violations in writing yesterday, all 32 of them have been removed from our account as of this morning.
Atlas_Amazon
Hello @Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Thank you for information provided regarding the concern with your listings. I understand that your listings include "Taylor" but makes no reference to "Swiftie". It may be the relation to the trademark that has caused your violation, so we would recommend providing disputing evidence to show there is no association between the two.
You mention having got the violations resolved after appealing, we do appreciate you confirming this for us. We encourage you to refer to this thread for any future questions that you might have on this particular concern.
Best,
Atlas
Seller_9HJtqF9QqkZnU
[Moderator Edit: removed inappropriate commentary]
Seller_4HsL3GZbyDLea
Wow..
Another day, another Amazon induced nightmare.
Seller_QjYfjZwWH8D0l
I had the exact same thing happen. 166 listings were taken down for trademark infringement of the word "Swiftie" even though the words "Swiftie" and "Swift" were nowhere to be found in any data field, including keywords. "Taylor" was included as part of a brand name reference (Crosby & Taylor). The Account Health agent I spoke with confirmed he could find no reference to "Swiftie" in my listings.
Fortunately, all the listings were for old SKUs that have been discontinued. I was going to fight it on principle, but I didn't want to waste the time (which would likely have required weeks, if not months, of dealing with clueless Seller Support agents), so I just deleted them all. The violations disappeared from my Account Health page.
Interestingly enough, I have a handful of units left from the same brand catalog. None of those listings were flagged for trademark infringement. It was only the SKUs that had a zero quantity. I assumed the pages had been hijacked.
@Atlas_Amazon
Seller_cbSMZpYqpWgwD
We have the same issue with Michael Jordan
32 (ridiculous) Taylor Swift "suspected" intellectual property violations
Woke up this morning to find 32 suspected intellectual property violations on our account, all apparently relating to the trademark "Swiftie" (which is a trademark owned by Taylor Swift).
Not a single one of these products (all novelty ceramic mugs) has any mention of the trademarked term ANYWHERE on the product or in the listing (including keywords etc.). Furthermore, none of these mugs even remotely relate to Taylor Swift or her brand which is clearly obvious from looking at them.
Many of the mugs do include the word "Taylor" and some contain a variation of the word (such as "Taylr", "Tayler" etc.) since we create mugs that refer to names of cities like "Taylor Falls" or mugs with first names and surnames on them. However, not a single one of these mugs has the word "Swift" or "Swiftie" in them and it is painfully obvious that they do not violate any intellectual property rights. As far as I can tell, Amazon's currently policy must be that Taylor Swift entirely owns and has exclusive rights to the name "Taylor" now which is completely absurd. This would mean that anyone named "Taylor", "Tayler", "Taylr" etc. who wanted to go to Amazon to buy a mug with their name on it or a person who wanted to buy a mug with their hometown on it (like "Taylor Falls") would have to buy a Taylor Swift mug (or nothing at all) which is absolutely insane and an unfair restriction on freedom of commerce.
Now I get to spend the whole day trying to deal with a problem that was created entirely by Amazon so that our selling account doesn't get suspended. Off to a great start as I sat on hold for more than 40 minutes waiting to speak to someone from the account health team (the recording said it was a less than 30 mins wait), only to have Amazon eventually disconnect the call on their end (which has happened so many times over the last couple years that it's not even funny).
To say that I am disappointed, disheartened and frustrated with the way Amazon treats smaller sellers like us would be a giant understatement...
32 (ridiculous) Taylor Swift "suspected" intellectual property violations
Woke up this morning to find 32 suspected intellectual property violations on our account, all apparently relating to the trademark "Swiftie" (which is a trademark owned by Taylor Swift).
Not a single one of these products (all novelty ceramic mugs) has any mention of the trademarked term ANYWHERE on the product or in the listing (including keywords etc.). Furthermore, none of these mugs even remotely relate to Taylor Swift or her brand which is clearly obvious from looking at them.
Many of the mugs do include the word "Taylor" and some contain a variation of the word (such as "Taylr", "Tayler" etc.) since we create mugs that refer to names of cities like "Taylor Falls" or mugs with first names and surnames on them. However, not a single one of these mugs has the word "Swift" or "Swiftie" in them and it is painfully obvious that they do not violate any intellectual property rights. As far as I can tell, Amazon's currently policy must be that Taylor Swift entirely owns and has exclusive rights to the name "Taylor" now which is completely absurd. This would mean that anyone named "Taylor", "Tayler", "Taylr" etc. who wanted to go to Amazon to buy a mug with their name on it or a person who wanted to buy a mug with their hometown on it (like "Taylor Falls") would have to buy a Taylor Swift mug (or nothing at all) which is absolutely insane and an unfair restriction on freedom of commerce.
Now I get to spend the whole day trying to deal with a problem that was created entirely by Amazon so that our selling account doesn't get suspended. Off to a great start as I sat on hold for more than 40 minutes waiting to speak to someone from the account health team (the recording said it was a less than 30 mins wait), only to have Amazon eventually disconnect the call on their end (which has happened so many times over the last couple years that it's not even funny).
To say that I am disappointed, disheartened and frustrated with the way Amazon treats smaller sellers like us would be a giant understatement...
31 replies
31 replies
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
This one takes the cake. Whoever or whatever accepted the report filed by the TM holder in Brand Registry made a major error.
The Account Health team must be swamped with these types of false positives on Brand Registry ... and increasingly the forum moderators here when sellers can't get answers. Hope someone will spot this and intervene.
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
Maybe THAT is the issue and not "Taylor Swift". You can't just use names of cities like "New York" or "San Fransisco" without an official paper from that towns allowing you to use the name.
Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Good news. After appealing the violations in writing yesterday, all 32 of them have been removed from our account as of this morning.
Atlas_Amazon
Hello @Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Thank you for information provided regarding the concern with your listings. I understand that your listings include "Taylor" but makes no reference to "Swiftie". It may be the relation to the trademark that has caused your violation, so we would recommend providing disputing evidence to show there is no association between the two.
You mention having got the violations resolved after appealing, we do appreciate you confirming this for us. We encourage you to refer to this thread for any future questions that you might have on this particular concern.
Best,
Atlas
Seller_9HJtqF9QqkZnU
[Moderator Edit: removed inappropriate commentary]
Seller_4HsL3GZbyDLea
Wow..
Another day, another Amazon induced nightmare.
Seller_QjYfjZwWH8D0l
I had the exact same thing happen. 166 listings were taken down for trademark infringement of the word "Swiftie" even though the words "Swiftie" and "Swift" were nowhere to be found in any data field, including keywords. "Taylor" was included as part of a brand name reference (Crosby & Taylor). The Account Health agent I spoke with confirmed he could find no reference to "Swiftie" in my listings.
Fortunately, all the listings were for old SKUs that have been discontinued. I was going to fight it on principle, but I didn't want to waste the time (which would likely have required weeks, if not months, of dealing with clueless Seller Support agents), so I just deleted them all. The violations disappeared from my Account Health page.
Interestingly enough, I have a handful of units left from the same brand catalog. None of those listings were flagged for trademark infringement. It was only the SKUs that had a zero quantity. I assumed the pages had been hijacked.
@Atlas_Amazon
Seller_cbSMZpYqpWgwD
We have the same issue with Michael Jordan
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
This one takes the cake. Whoever or whatever accepted the report filed by the TM holder in Brand Registry made a major error.
The Account Health team must be swamped with these types of false positives on Brand Registry ... and increasingly the forum moderators here when sellers can't get answers. Hope someone will spot this and intervene.
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
This one takes the cake. Whoever or whatever accepted the report filed by the TM holder in Brand Registry made a major error.
The Account Health team must be swamped with these types of false positives on Brand Registry ... and increasingly the forum moderators here when sellers can't get answers. Hope someone will spot this and intervene.
Seller_f4a7xAPCCSMqD
Is it possibly used as a keyword?
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
Maybe THAT is the issue and not "Taylor Swift". You can't just use names of cities like "New York" or "San Fransisco" without an official paper from that towns allowing you to use the name.
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
Maybe THAT is the issue and not "Taylor Swift". You can't just use names of cities like "New York" or "San Fransisco" without an official paper from that towns allowing you to use the name.
Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Good news. After appealing the violations in writing yesterday, all 32 of them have been removed from our account as of this morning.
Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Good news. After appealing the violations in writing yesterday, all 32 of them have been removed from our account as of this morning.
Atlas_Amazon
Hello @Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Thank you for information provided regarding the concern with your listings. I understand that your listings include "Taylor" but makes no reference to "Swiftie". It may be the relation to the trademark that has caused your violation, so we would recommend providing disputing evidence to show there is no association between the two.
You mention having got the violations resolved after appealing, we do appreciate you confirming this for us. We encourage you to refer to this thread for any future questions that you might have on this particular concern.
Best,
Atlas
Atlas_Amazon
Hello @Seller_BQ0Hb9q8n3EEL
Thank you for information provided regarding the concern with your listings. I understand that your listings include "Taylor" but makes no reference to "Swiftie". It may be the relation to the trademark that has caused your violation, so we would recommend providing disputing evidence to show there is no association between the two.
You mention having got the violations resolved after appealing, we do appreciate you confirming this for us. We encourage you to refer to this thread for any future questions that you might have on this particular concern.
Best,
Atlas
Seller_9HJtqF9QqkZnU
[Moderator Edit: removed inappropriate commentary]
Seller_9HJtqF9QqkZnU
[Moderator Edit: removed inappropriate commentary]
Seller_4HsL3GZbyDLea
Wow..
Another day, another Amazon induced nightmare.
Seller_4HsL3GZbyDLea
Wow..
Another day, another Amazon induced nightmare.
Seller_QjYfjZwWH8D0l
I had the exact same thing happen. 166 listings were taken down for trademark infringement of the word "Swiftie" even though the words "Swiftie" and "Swift" were nowhere to be found in any data field, including keywords. "Taylor" was included as part of a brand name reference (Crosby & Taylor). The Account Health agent I spoke with confirmed he could find no reference to "Swiftie" in my listings.
Fortunately, all the listings were for old SKUs that have been discontinued. I was going to fight it on principle, but I didn't want to waste the time (which would likely have required weeks, if not months, of dealing with clueless Seller Support agents), so I just deleted them all. The violations disappeared from my Account Health page.
Interestingly enough, I have a handful of units left from the same brand catalog. None of those listings were flagged for trademark infringement. It was only the SKUs that had a zero quantity. I assumed the pages had been hijacked.
@Atlas_Amazon
Seller_QjYfjZwWH8D0l
I had the exact same thing happen. 166 listings were taken down for trademark infringement of the word "Swiftie" even though the words "Swiftie" and "Swift" were nowhere to be found in any data field, including keywords. "Taylor" was included as part of a brand name reference (Crosby & Taylor). The Account Health agent I spoke with confirmed he could find no reference to "Swiftie" in my listings.
Fortunately, all the listings were for old SKUs that have been discontinued. I was going to fight it on principle, but I didn't want to waste the time (which would likely have required weeks, if not months, of dealing with clueless Seller Support agents), so I just deleted them all. The violations disappeared from my Account Health page.
Interestingly enough, I have a handful of units left from the same brand catalog. None of those listings were flagged for trademark infringement. It was only the SKUs that had a zero quantity. I assumed the pages had been hijacked.
@Atlas_Amazon
Seller_cbSMZpYqpWgwD
We have the same issue with Michael Jordan
Seller_cbSMZpYqpWgwD
We have the same issue with Michael Jordan
