Amazon Falsely Accuses Me of IP Violation & Tells Me to Call [Removed inappropriate commentary]
I haven't sold on Amazon for a while. Amazon suddenly decided to falsely accuse me of IP violation for an item I bought in 2008 & sold in 2014. When I was trying resolve the issue, an Amazon rep wrote the following: "Ths is the number for SELLER CENTRAL CS - x7355 (toll-free)". When I dial this number, it goes to "America's hottest call line". I'm so confused. I expect talking to rep to be like talking to a brick wall. [Removed inappropriate commentary]
Amazon Falsely Accuses Me of IP Violation & Tells Me to Call [Removed inappropriate commentary]
I haven't sold on Amazon for a while. Amazon suddenly decided to falsely accuse me of IP violation for an item I bought in 2008 & sold in 2014. When I was trying resolve the issue, an Amazon rep wrote the following: "Ths is the number for SELLER CENTRAL CS - x7355 (toll-free)". When I dial this number, it goes to "America's hottest call line". I'm so confused. I expect talking to rep to be like talking to a brick wall. [Removed inappropriate commentary]
27 replies
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
The supposed "inappropriate commentary" came directly from Amazon. An Amazon rep told me to call that bogus number.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Amazon moderators are now shutting down discussion of this topic. Amazon is committing libel against me & trying to suppress the information as damage control. I have never violated any Amazon policy. I have never violated U.S. IP law. The charges are completely false & baseless. I sold on Amazon as a private individual for years. Everything I did was 100% legit. I had many satisfied customers. Amazon has malicious deleted all that positive feedback & is now falsely charging me with violating intellectual property.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
Just so anyone reading this can understand the actual context of what has happened to you, this is from your duplicate (now closed as a duplicate thread).
These are just pertinent parts as an explanation --
"I sold a Spider-Man DVD in 2014. I only ever had one copy. Without my knowledge & without my consent, Amazon maintained this listing. Recently, Amazon charged me with violating intellectual property. "
"I bought the item from Amazon in 2008. It was all 100% legit. The issue seems to be their policies have changed & somehow the listing didn't delete like it was supposed to in 2014."
I asked on the now closed thread if you purchased it using your Prime account and did not get an answer.
Asking again here -- did you buy it using PRIME? If so, that would be enough of a violation on its own to get any of us suspended.
Additionally, did you sell it as new or used? If sold as 'new' it is an additional problem.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
Can you provide the notice they gave you or a screenshot of where you are seeing this violation?
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
I had seller support give me a wrong 1-800 # once too. It was for a completely different company instead of another department at Amazon.
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
Even though you bought the item on Amazon, unfortunately does not make it legit. I bought a hair removal system called a No-No years ago for my wife from Amazon. She used it once and hated it. I listed it on Ebay as used and the company VERO'd it and wrote me a letter detailing how they could tell it was a fake from my listing photos. Also, many 3rd party sellers to this day still sell bootleg cd's and dvd's under the actual legit Amazon page for the real item.
April_Amazon
Hello @Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM,
Thank you for taking the time to connect with us via the Forums. I can understand you might be a bit confused with this violation. I will try and provide some general guidance. For greater detail concerning your specific situation, please provide an ASIN, Case ID or Performance Notification. With that information and the help from an internal team, I am able to research in greater detail.
Things have changed quite a bit since 2014. If for any reason, the listing was not deleted from your inventory, not just made inactive or out of stock, Amazon feels you are still intending to sell the item. Any item you have visible in your inventory must follow all the current listing rules.
I can see it would be very frustrating for you to receive an incorrect phone number for Amazon Support. Could you please provide the Case ID, I will try and follow up and have that corrected?
Thank you @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp for supporting the Community. We also appreciate the comments from @Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L and @Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d. In many cases, your Community of Sellers will guide and direct you.
My guidance going forward: If you are thinking of selling again on Amazon, please take the time to review Seller University. I am sure many things may be different than how you remember. Take a deeper look into: Responsible Sourcing documentation request requirements and Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation.
These tools are available to you at no charge and by taking the time to understand them will assist in your success if you follow the current policies.
I hope some of this information will be beneficial. Welcome back to Amazon. If you do need more specific information, do reach back out with the Case ID.
I look forward to your response. Thank you for reaching out on the Forums.
April
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Update: I keep going back & forth with Amazon reps. I'm sure they're doing their best, but nobody seems willing to understand the issue. Amazon policies may prevent them from being sensible. I've repeatedly explained that I bought the item in 2008, sold it in 2014, & only ever had a single copy. The listing should have disappeared after the sale in 2014. Amazon reps just keep repeating irrelevant policies & telling me how to get the listing reinstated. I don't want to do that. I don't have any copies of the item.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
I'm assuming this item is showing up in your Account Health as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" for a "Trademark Misuse" for "Spider-Man" or "Marvel". If that's the case, this has nothing to do with you specifically.
No individual seller is being targeted here, the actual detail page itself is what is being removed.
The problem boils down to just the Brand Name attribute in the listing, and Amazon's shoddy record keeping. This is because Amazon's system looks at the name in the Brand Name attribute and compares that with any other brand names mentioned in the title or body of the listing, and if the system doesn't have a record of the brand name in the Brand Name attribute having a license to use the other brand name, it will (sometimes, eventually) take the listing down. This does not necessarily mean that there is an actual trademark misuse, just that the system doesn't have record of the licensing.
In the case of B000HKIM7Q, the brand name attribute says "GIT Corp". (The listing has been removed from amazon.com but is still active on amazon.com.au.) According to wikipedia, GIT Corp had a license to make these dvds of scanned Marvel comics until 2007. This is a fully licensed product and even though GIT Corp no longer has the license, the product was produced under license and is valid and sellable - but Amazon does not have a very efficient system in place to correct the problem. Seller Support will usually tell you that you have to submit a "letter of authorization" from the brand owner "authorizing you to use their brand with your product" as if you were manufacturing it. This is clearly not "your" product (you are not the manufacturer) and there is obviously no way for most 3rd party sellers to obtain original licensing agreements from just about any manufacturers for any of their licensed products - especially when the manufacturer doesn't seem to exist any more. Often, after telling you that you need to submit this "letter of authorization" (licensing agreement,) Seller Support will then proceed to act as if you need a reseller agreement (as if a reseller agreement from an individual seller would reactivate the ASIN for all sellers.) Seller Support does not understand the difference between the license documentation that the system wants vs the reseller agreement they will often ask for. Many forum posters also do not seem to understand the difference between a license agreement and a reseller agreement and will tell you that you are being targeted for not having a "Letter of Authorization (LOA)" from the brand owner to sell the product - but again, the "letter of authorization" they are referencing is not any kind of reseller agreement, it is strictly a licensing agreement, as in manufacturers licensing a brand name to make products. And again, the system is not asking for a reseller agreement, it is strictly looking for the licensing agreement.
For an added twist: This exact product is actually still available on Amazon, the ASIN is B000IN35H4. That listing has the brand name attribute as "Git" instead of "GIT Corp." Amazon's system does not seem to have a problem with that listing, since it is still active. That could mean that Amazon's system actually has a record of "Git" having a license with Marvel, but they haven't set up their system to recognize that "Git" and "GIT Corp" are the same thing - or it could be that Amazon's bot just hasn't decided to take that listing down yet. You mentioned that you also sold a different comic book dvd with this one, and that item is still available for sale on Amazon - I'd bet that the brand name attribute on that listing is not "GIT Corp".
So, the problem boils down to Amazon not keeping track of this license between GIT Corp and Marvel, or not recognizing that "GIT Corp" and "Git" are the same thing, and now this ASIN will show up as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" in the Account Health page of every seller who has ever sold it (unless they have gone through the steps to delete it from their inventory as spelled out by @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp in a previous response.) Amazon does not have a working solution to the root problem. I'd be interested to hear what @April_Amazonhas to say in response to this root problem and how to fix it.
Amazon Falsely Accuses Me of IP Violation & Tells Me to Call [Removed inappropriate commentary]
I haven't sold on Amazon for a while. Amazon suddenly decided to falsely accuse me of IP violation for an item I bought in 2008 & sold in 2014. When I was trying resolve the issue, an Amazon rep wrote the following: "Ths is the number for SELLER CENTRAL CS - x7355 (toll-free)". When I dial this number, it goes to "America's hottest call line". I'm so confused. I expect talking to rep to be like talking to a brick wall. [Removed inappropriate commentary]
Amazon Falsely Accuses Me of IP Violation & Tells Me to Call [Removed inappropriate commentary]
I haven't sold on Amazon for a while. Amazon suddenly decided to falsely accuse me of IP violation for an item I bought in 2008 & sold in 2014. When I was trying resolve the issue, an Amazon rep wrote the following: "Ths is the number for SELLER CENTRAL CS - x7355 (toll-free)". When I dial this number, it goes to "America's hottest call line". I'm so confused. I expect talking to rep to be like talking to a brick wall. [Removed inappropriate commentary]
Amazon Falsely Accuses Me of IP Violation & Tells Me to Call [Removed inappropriate commentary]
I haven't sold on Amazon for a while. Amazon suddenly decided to falsely accuse me of IP violation for an item I bought in 2008 & sold in 2014. When I was trying resolve the issue, an Amazon rep wrote the following: "Ths is the number for SELLER CENTRAL CS - x7355 (toll-free)". When I dial this number, it goes to "America's hottest call line". I'm so confused. I expect talking to rep to be like talking to a brick wall. [Removed inappropriate commentary]
27 replies
27 replies
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
The supposed "inappropriate commentary" came directly from Amazon. An Amazon rep told me to call that bogus number.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Amazon moderators are now shutting down discussion of this topic. Amazon is committing libel against me & trying to suppress the information as damage control. I have never violated any Amazon policy. I have never violated U.S. IP law. The charges are completely false & baseless. I sold on Amazon as a private individual for years. Everything I did was 100% legit. I had many satisfied customers. Amazon has malicious deleted all that positive feedback & is now falsely charging me with violating intellectual property.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
Just so anyone reading this can understand the actual context of what has happened to you, this is from your duplicate (now closed as a duplicate thread).
These are just pertinent parts as an explanation --
"I sold a Spider-Man DVD in 2014. I only ever had one copy. Without my knowledge & without my consent, Amazon maintained this listing. Recently, Amazon charged me with violating intellectual property. "
"I bought the item from Amazon in 2008. It was all 100% legit. The issue seems to be their policies have changed & somehow the listing didn't delete like it was supposed to in 2014."
I asked on the now closed thread if you purchased it using your Prime account and did not get an answer.
Asking again here -- did you buy it using PRIME? If so, that would be enough of a violation on its own to get any of us suspended.
Additionally, did you sell it as new or used? If sold as 'new' it is an additional problem.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
Can you provide the notice they gave you or a screenshot of where you are seeing this violation?
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
I had seller support give me a wrong 1-800 # once too. It was for a completely different company instead of another department at Amazon.
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
Even though you bought the item on Amazon, unfortunately does not make it legit. I bought a hair removal system called a No-No years ago for my wife from Amazon. She used it once and hated it. I listed it on Ebay as used and the company VERO'd it and wrote me a letter detailing how they could tell it was a fake from my listing photos. Also, many 3rd party sellers to this day still sell bootleg cd's and dvd's under the actual legit Amazon page for the real item.
April_Amazon
Hello @Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM,
Thank you for taking the time to connect with us via the Forums. I can understand you might be a bit confused with this violation. I will try and provide some general guidance. For greater detail concerning your specific situation, please provide an ASIN, Case ID or Performance Notification. With that information and the help from an internal team, I am able to research in greater detail.
Things have changed quite a bit since 2014. If for any reason, the listing was not deleted from your inventory, not just made inactive or out of stock, Amazon feels you are still intending to sell the item. Any item you have visible in your inventory must follow all the current listing rules.
I can see it would be very frustrating for you to receive an incorrect phone number for Amazon Support. Could you please provide the Case ID, I will try and follow up and have that corrected?
Thank you @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp for supporting the Community. We also appreciate the comments from @Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L and @Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d. In many cases, your Community of Sellers will guide and direct you.
My guidance going forward: If you are thinking of selling again on Amazon, please take the time to review Seller University. I am sure many things may be different than how you remember. Take a deeper look into: Responsible Sourcing documentation request requirements and Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation.
These tools are available to you at no charge and by taking the time to understand them will assist in your success if you follow the current policies.
I hope some of this information will be beneficial. Welcome back to Amazon. If you do need more specific information, do reach back out with the Case ID.
I look forward to your response. Thank you for reaching out on the Forums.
April
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Update: I keep going back & forth with Amazon reps. I'm sure they're doing their best, but nobody seems willing to understand the issue. Amazon policies may prevent them from being sensible. I've repeatedly explained that I bought the item in 2008, sold it in 2014, & only ever had a single copy. The listing should have disappeared after the sale in 2014. Amazon reps just keep repeating irrelevant policies & telling me how to get the listing reinstated. I don't want to do that. I don't have any copies of the item.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
I'm assuming this item is showing up in your Account Health as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" for a "Trademark Misuse" for "Spider-Man" or "Marvel". If that's the case, this has nothing to do with you specifically.
No individual seller is being targeted here, the actual detail page itself is what is being removed.
The problem boils down to just the Brand Name attribute in the listing, and Amazon's shoddy record keeping. This is because Amazon's system looks at the name in the Brand Name attribute and compares that with any other brand names mentioned in the title or body of the listing, and if the system doesn't have a record of the brand name in the Brand Name attribute having a license to use the other brand name, it will (sometimes, eventually) take the listing down. This does not necessarily mean that there is an actual trademark misuse, just that the system doesn't have record of the licensing.
In the case of B000HKIM7Q, the brand name attribute says "GIT Corp". (The listing has been removed from amazon.com but is still active on amazon.com.au.) According to wikipedia, GIT Corp had a license to make these dvds of scanned Marvel comics until 2007. This is a fully licensed product and even though GIT Corp no longer has the license, the product was produced under license and is valid and sellable - but Amazon does not have a very efficient system in place to correct the problem. Seller Support will usually tell you that you have to submit a "letter of authorization" from the brand owner "authorizing you to use their brand with your product" as if you were manufacturing it. This is clearly not "your" product (you are not the manufacturer) and there is obviously no way for most 3rd party sellers to obtain original licensing agreements from just about any manufacturers for any of their licensed products - especially when the manufacturer doesn't seem to exist any more. Often, after telling you that you need to submit this "letter of authorization" (licensing agreement,) Seller Support will then proceed to act as if you need a reseller agreement (as if a reseller agreement from an individual seller would reactivate the ASIN for all sellers.) Seller Support does not understand the difference between the license documentation that the system wants vs the reseller agreement they will often ask for. Many forum posters also do not seem to understand the difference between a license agreement and a reseller agreement and will tell you that you are being targeted for not having a "Letter of Authorization (LOA)" from the brand owner to sell the product - but again, the "letter of authorization" they are referencing is not any kind of reseller agreement, it is strictly a licensing agreement, as in manufacturers licensing a brand name to make products. And again, the system is not asking for a reseller agreement, it is strictly looking for the licensing agreement.
For an added twist: This exact product is actually still available on Amazon, the ASIN is B000IN35H4. That listing has the brand name attribute as "Git" instead of "GIT Corp." Amazon's system does not seem to have a problem with that listing, since it is still active. That could mean that Amazon's system actually has a record of "Git" having a license with Marvel, but they haven't set up their system to recognize that "Git" and "GIT Corp" are the same thing - or it could be that Amazon's bot just hasn't decided to take that listing down yet. You mentioned that you also sold a different comic book dvd with this one, and that item is still available for sale on Amazon - I'd bet that the brand name attribute on that listing is not "GIT Corp".
So, the problem boils down to Amazon not keeping track of this license between GIT Corp and Marvel, or not recognizing that "GIT Corp" and "Git" are the same thing, and now this ASIN will show up as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" in the Account Health page of every seller who has ever sold it (unless they have gone through the steps to delete it from their inventory as spelled out by @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp in a previous response.) Amazon does not have a working solution to the root problem. I'd be interested to hear what @April_Amazonhas to say in response to this root problem and how to fix it.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
The supposed "inappropriate commentary" came directly from Amazon. An Amazon rep told me to call that bogus number.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
The supposed "inappropriate commentary" came directly from Amazon. An Amazon rep told me to call that bogus number.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Amazon moderators are now shutting down discussion of this topic. Amazon is committing libel against me & trying to suppress the information as damage control. I have never violated any Amazon policy. I have never violated U.S. IP law. The charges are completely false & baseless. I sold on Amazon as a private individual for years. Everything I did was 100% legit. I had many satisfied customers. Amazon has malicious deleted all that positive feedback & is now falsely charging me with violating intellectual property.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Amazon moderators are now shutting down discussion of this topic. Amazon is committing libel against me & trying to suppress the information as damage control. I have never violated any Amazon policy. I have never violated U.S. IP law. The charges are completely false & baseless. I sold on Amazon as a private individual for years. Everything I did was 100% legit. I had many satisfied customers. Amazon has malicious deleted all that positive feedback & is now falsely charging me with violating intellectual property.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
Just so anyone reading this can understand the actual context of what has happened to you, this is from your duplicate (now closed as a duplicate thread).
These are just pertinent parts as an explanation --
"I sold a Spider-Man DVD in 2014. I only ever had one copy. Without my knowledge & without my consent, Amazon maintained this listing. Recently, Amazon charged me with violating intellectual property. "
"I bought the item from Amazon in 2008. It was all 100% legit. The issue seems to be their policies have changed & somehow the listing didn't delete like it was supposed to in 2014."
I asked on the now closed thread if you purchased it using your Prime account and did not get an answer.
Asking again here -- did you buy it using PRIME? If so, that would be enough of a violation on its own to get any of us suspended.
Additionally, did you sell it as new or used? If sold as 'new' it is an additional problem.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
Just so anyone reading this can understand the actual context of what has happened to you, this is from your duplicate (now closed as a duplicate thread).
These are just pertinent parts as an explanation --
"I sold a Spider-Man DVD in 2014. I only ever had one copy. Without my knowledge & without my consent, Amazon maintained this listing. Recently, Amazon charged me with violating intellectual property. "
"I bought the item from Amazon in 2008. It was all 100% legit. The issue seems to be their policies have changed & somehow the listing didn't delete like it was supposed to in 2014."
I asked on the now closed thread if you purchased it using your Prime account and did not get an answer.
Asking again here -- did you buy it using PRIME? If so, that would be enough of a violation on its own to get any of us suspended.
Additionally, did you sell it as new or used? If sold as 'new' it is an additional problem.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
Can you provide the notice they gave you or a screenshot of where you are seeing this violation?
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
Can you provide the notice they gave you or a screenshot of where you are seeing this violation?
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
I had seller support give me a wrong 1-800 # once too. It was for a completely different company instead of another department at Amazon.
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
I had seller support give me a wrong 1-800 # once too. It was for a completely different company instead of another department at Amazon.
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
Even though you bought the item on Amazon, unfortunately does not make it legit. I bought a hair removal system called a No-No years ago for my wife from Amazon. She used it once and hated it. I listed it on Ebay as used and the company VERO'd it and wrote me a letter detailing how they could tell it was a fake from my listing photos. Also, many 3rd party sellers to this day still sell bootleg cd's and dvd's under the actual legit Amazon page for the real item.
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
Even though you bought the item on Amazon, unfortunately does not make it legit. I bought a hair removal system called a No-No years ago for my wife from Amazon. She used it once and hated it. I listed it on Ebay as used and the company VERO'd it and wrote me a letter detailing how they could tell it was a fake from my listing photos. Also, many 3rd party sellers to this day still sell bootleg cd's and dvd's under the actual legit Amazon page for the real item.
April_Amazon
Hello @Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM,
Thank you for taking the time to connect with us via the Forums. I can understand you might be a bit confused with this violation. I will try and provide some general guidance. For greater detail concerning your specific situation, please provide an ASIN, Case ID or Performance Notification. With that information and the help from an internal team, I am able to research in greater detail.
Things have changed quite a bit since 2014. If for any reason, the listing was not deleted from your inventory, not just made inactive or out of stock, Amazon feels you are still intending to sell the item. Any item you have visible in your inventory must follow all the current listing rules.
I can see it would be very frustrating for you to receive an incorrect phone number for Amazon Support. Could you please provide the Case ID, I will try and follow up and have that corrected?
Thank you @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp for supporting the Community. We also appreciate the comments from @Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L and @Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d. In many cases, your Community of Sellers will guide and direct you.
My guidance going forward: If you are thinking of selling again on Amazon, please take the time to review Seller University. I am sure many things may be different than how you remember. Take a deeper look into: Responsible Sourcing documentation request requirements and Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation.
These tools are available to you at no charge and by taking the time to understand them will assist in your success if you follow the current policies.
I hope some of this information will be beneficial. Welcome back to Amazon. If you do need more specific information, do reach back out with the Case ID.
I look forward to your response. Thank you for reaching out on the Forums.
April
April_Amazon
Hello @Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM,
Thank you for taking the time to connect with us via the Forums. I can understand you might be a bit confused with this violation. I will try and provide some general guidance. For greater detail concerning your specific situation, please provide an ASIN, Case ID or Performance Notification. With that information and the help from an internal team, I am able to research in greater detail.
Things have changed quite a bit since 2014. If for any reason, the listing was not deleted from your inventory, not just made inactive or out of stock, Amazon feels you are still intending to sell the item. Any item you have visible in your inventory must follow all the current listing rules.
I can see it would be very frustrating for you to receive an incorrect phone number for Amazon Support. Could you please provide the Case ID, I will try and follow up and have that corrected?
Thank you @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp for supporting the Community. We also appreciate the comments from @Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L and @Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d. In many cases, your Community of Sellers will guide and direct you.
My guidance going forward: If you are thinking of selling again on Amazon, please take the time to review Seller University. I am sure many things may be different than how you remember. Take a deeper look into: Responsible Sourcing documentation request requirements and Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation.
These tools are available to you at no charge and by taking the time to understand them will assist in your success if you follow the current policies.
I hope some of this information will be beneficial. Welcome back to Amazon. If you do need more specific information, do reach back out with the Case ID.
I look forward to your response. Thank you for reaching out on the Forums.
April
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Update: I keep going back & forth with Amazon reps. I'm sure they're doing their best, but nobody seems willing to understand the issue. Amazon policies may prevent them from being sensible. I've repeatedly explained that I bought the item in 2008, sold it in 2014, & only ever had a single copy. The listing should have disappeared after the sale in 2014. Amazon reps just keep repeating irrelevant policies & telling me how to get the listing reinstated. I don't want to do that. I don't have any copies of the item.
Seller_kgXIkci0QWwdM
Update: I keep going back & forth with Amazon reps. I'm sure they're doing their best, but nobody seems willing to understand the issue. Amazon policies may prevent them from being sensible. I've repeatedly explained that I bought the item in 2008, sold it in 2014, & only ever had a single copy. The listing should have disappeared after the sale in 2014. Amazon reps just keep repeating irrelevant policies & telling me how to get the listing reinstated. I don't want to do that. I don't have any copies of the item.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
I'm assuming this item is showing up in your Account Health as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" for a "Trademark Misuse" for "Spider-Man" or "Marvel". If that's the case, this has nothing to do with you specifically.
No individual seller is being targeted here, the actual detail page itself is what is being removed.
The problem boils down to just the Brand Name attribute in the listing, and Amazon's shoddy record keeping. This is because Amazon's system looks at the name in the Brand Name attribute and compares that with any other brand names mentioned in the title or body of the listing, and if the system doesn't have a record of the brand name in the Brand Name attribute having a license to use the other brand name, it will (sometimes, eventually) take the listing down. This does not necessarily mean that there is an actual trademark misuse, just that the system doesn't have record of the licensing.
In the case of B000HKIM7Q, the brand name attribute says "GIT Corp". (The listing has been removed from amazon.com but is still active on amazon.com.au.) According to wikipedia, GIT Corp had a license to make these dvds of scanned Marvel comics until 2007. This is a fully licensed product and even though GIT Corp no longer has the license, the product was produced under license and is valid and sellable - but Amazon does not have a very efficient system in place to correct the problem. Seller Support will usually tell you that you have to submit a "letter of authorization" from the brand owner "authorizing you to use their brand with your product" as if you were manufacturing it. This is clearly not "your" product (you are not the manufacturer) and there is obviously no way for most 3rd party sellers to obtain original licensing agreements from just about any manufacturers for any of their licensed products - especially when the manufacturer doesn't seem to exist any more. Often, after telling you that you need to submit this "letter of authorization" (licensing agreement,) Seller Support will then proceed to act as if you need a reseller agreement (as if a reseller agreement from an individual seller would reactivate the ASIN for all sellers.) Seller Support does not understand the difference between the license documentation that the system wants vs the reseller agreement they will often ask for. Many forum posters also do not seem to understand the difference between a license agreement and a reseller agreement and will tell you that you are being targeted for not having a "Letter of Authorization (LOA)" from the brand owner to sell the product - but again, the "letter of authorization" they are referencing is not any kind of reseller agreement, it is strictly a licensing agreement, as in manufacturers licensing a brand name to make products. And again, the system is not asking for a reseller agreement, it is strictly looking for the licensing agreement.
For an added twist: This exact product is actually still available on Amazon, the ASIN is B000IN35H4. That listing has the brand name attribute as "Git" instead of "GIT Corp." Amazon's system does not seem to have a problem with that listing, since it is still active. That could mean that Amazon's system actually has a record of "Git" having a license with Marvel, but they haven't set up their system to recognize that "Git" and "GIT Corp" are the same thing - or it could be that Amazon's bot just hasn't decided to take that listing down yet. You mentioned that you also sold a different comic book dvd with this one, and that item is still available for sale on Amazon - I'd bet that the brand name attribute on that listing is not "GIT Corp".
So, the problem boils down to Amazon not keeping track of this license between GIT Corp and Marvel, or not recognizing that "GIT Corp" and "Git" are the same thing, and now this ASIN will show up as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" in the Account Health page of every seller who has ever sold it (unless they have gone through the steps to delete it from their inventory as spelled out by @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp in a previous response.) Amazon does not have a working solution to the root problem. I'd be interested to hear what @April_Amazonhas to say in response to this root problem and how to fix it.
Seller_rFyxk4x2i2V6L
I'm assuming this item is showing up in your Account Health as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" for a "Trademark Misuse" for "Spider-Man" or "Marvel". If that's the case, this has nothing to do with you specifically.
No individual seller is being targeted here, the actual detail page itself is what is being removed.
The problem boils down to just the Brand Name attribute in the listing, and Amazon's shoddy record keeping. This is because Amazon's system looks at the name in the Brand Name attribute and compares that with any other brand names mentioned in the title or body of the listing, and if the system doesn't have a record of the brand name in the Brand Name attribute having a license to use the other brand name, it will (sometimes, eventually) take the listing down. This does not necessarily mean that there is an actual trademark misuse, just that the system doesn't have record of the licensing.
In the case of B000HKIM7Q, the brand name attribute says "GIT Corp". (The listing has been removed from amazon.com but is still active on amazon.com.au.) According to wikipedia, GIT Corp had a license to make these dvds of scanned Marvel comics until 2007. This is a fully licensed product and even though GIT Corp no longer has the license, the product was produced under license and is valid and sellable - but Amazon does not have a very efficient system in place to correct the problem. Seller Support will usually tell you that you have to submit a "letter of authorization" from the brand owner "authorizing you to use their brand with your product" as if you were manufacturing it. This is clearly not "your" product (you are not the manufacturer) and there is obviously no way for most 3rd party sellers to obtain original licensing agreements from just about any manufacturers for any of their licensed products - especially when the manufacturer doesn't seem to exist any more. Often, after telling you that you need to submit this "letter of authorization" (licensing agreement,) Seller Support will then proceed to act as if you need a reseller agreement (as if a reseller agreement from an individual seller would reactivate the ASIN for all sellers.) Seller Support does not understand the difference between the license documentation that the system wants vs the reseller agreement they will often ask for. Many forum posters also do not seem to understand the difference between a license agreement and a reseller agreement and will tell you that you are being targeted for not having a "Letter of Authorization (LOA)" from the brand owner to sell the product - but again, the "letter of authorization" they are referencing is not any kind of reseller agreement, it is strictly a licensing agreement, as in manufacturers licensing a brand name to make products. And again, the system is not asking for a reseller agreement, it is strictly looking for the licensing agreement.
For an added twist: This exact product is actually still available on Amazon, the ASIN is B000IN35H4. That listing has the brand name attribute as "Git" instead of "GIT Corp." Amazon's system does not seem to have a problem with that listing, since it is still active. That could mean that Amazon's system actually has a record of "Git" having a license with Marvel, but they haven't set up their system to recognize that "Git" and "GIT Corp" are the same thing - or it could be that Amazon's bot just hasn't decided to take that listing down yet. You mentioned that you also sold a different comic book dvd with this one, and that item is still available for sale on Amazon - I'd bet that the brand name attribute on that listing is not "GIT Corp".
So, the problem boils down to Amazon not keeping track of this license between GIT Corp and Marvel, or not recognizing that "GIT Corp" and "Git" are the same thing, and now this ASIN will show up as a "Suspected Intellectual Property Violation" in the Account Health page of every seller who has ever sold it (unless they have gone through the steps to delete it from their inventory as spelled out by @Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp in a previous response.) Amazon does not have a working solution to the root problem. I'd be interested to hear what @April_Amazonhas to say in response to this root problem and how to fix it.
