Do you sell on Amazon Store Setup? Do you know if your product listing infringes another brand’s trademark? Believe it or not, many sellers can get upset with this. As an Amazon seller, you are not only competing with other sellers in the area of the product, but you are also battling against Amazon trademark infringement.
“Yes, it is very much possible to use trademarked terms in your listing against all the arguments. But, you must know when and how to use a term trademarked.”
Before proceeding with any specific terms, you should definitely be sure of certain aspects. In this blog post, you will learn about Amazon trademark infringement terms briefly and how you can avoid using them.
Let’s Get Started!
Amazon Trademarked Terms – An Overview
A trademark is a word, symbol or design, or combination of the same (such as a brand name or logo) that a company uses to identify its goods or services and differentiate them from other companies’ goods and services.
To put it another way, an Amazon trademark indicates the source of the goods or services. Trademark laws generally exist to prevent customer confusion about the origin of goods or services. A trademark owner usually protects a trademark by registering it with a country-specific trademark office (such as the office of a trademark registrar).
In some cases, an individual or company may have trademark rights based solely on the use of a mark in commerce, even if that mark was not registered with a country-specific trademark office.
How Can You Avoid Using Trademark Terms As An Amazon Seller?
Amazon trademark infringement is a serious offense and states that all sellers must comply with federal, state, and local laws and Amazon selling policies regarding all products and product listings. Amazon is evident in the consequences of trademark infringement. Its policy states that sellers with trademark infringing are being suspended from selling privileges and, in some cases, legal action may be taken.
From the moment you start sourcing products to sell, you need to exercise responsibility for your product. To get started, this means identifying which of your sourced products are branded.
What points can you consider keeping in mind while using “Trademarked Terms”, and also you can read what limitations does Amazon put on an online seller on its platform
- You are permitted to link your use of the Amazon mark to an Amazon site.
- You can leverage the Amazon mark which is only for the purpose expressly authorized by Amazon in the Guidelines on the platform.
- Please follow its most recent edition of such Regulations; and
- comply with any other terms, conditions, or Amazon selling policies that may issue from time to time that applies to the Amazon mark’s use.
- The Amazon Mark image that has been approved for use is provided below. You may not change the proportion, color, or font of the Amazon Mark, or add or remove any element to or from the Amazon Marks in any way.
Note- “Avoid writing something like, “Our brand has a unique identification mark, so you should shop for our product online.”
So, does that mean to use a registered term, you need permission from the owner?
No, just because you are not the Amazon trademark owner does not necessarily mean that you cannot sell another company’s product. Usually, the unauthorized use of a trademark in creating a product detail page is infringing only if it is likely to confuse the source, endorsement, or affiliation of the goods.
So, When Can You Use Other Trademarked Terms On Amazon?
Below are the following terms under which you can avail the benefits of other’s trademarked terms:
- When selling authentic goods, the seller may use the trademarked name to list those authentic goods. For example, a seller that lists an authentic steel product is not necessarily infringing on the owner of the steel trademark because the seller is using the Amazon trademark to identify an original product.
- When using the term trademark in its usual dictionary meaning.
- While stating the truth that the product is compatible with the trademarked product.
- Only the brand name can be used to indicate compatibility, but not a logo.
- Any statement you make about compatibility must be confirmed and relevant to the customer’s purchase decision (for example, if your product is truly compatible with all competing products)
Let’s Wrap Up
As an Amazon seller, we would suggest that you avoid the Amazon brand registry without trademark terms in your keyword list or anywhere in your content on the platform because the advertiser account might be suspended or even closed. In addition, the amazon system might return your product listings.
By now, we hope we have successfully made your mind clear regarding the impacts of using trademarked terms on Amazon as an online seller and how to avoid Amazon trademark infringement.
