Account has been suspended for 1.5 months due to IP Complaint: Counterfeit

Account Health Intellectual Property
1

Hello everyone, I was suspended at the beginning of October due to an IP complaint that I did not properly address. (I hadn’t had one before.) I submitted invoices, but they were not accepted by Amazon. Afterwards, they asked for a plan of action and I overlooked this in the email that I received from them. My initial email from amazon was as follows:

Hello,

Your Amazon selling account has been deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you but will be held in your account while we work with you to address this issue. Please ship any open orders to avoid further impact to your account.

Why did this happen?
We arrived at this decision because we were unable to verify information related to your seller account, or did not receive any new information regarding your listings or selling history.

You can view your account performance and more details on the ASIN(s) at (Amazon Sign-In) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.

We’re here to help.
If you need help better understanding what is causing this, please search for “Intellectual Property Violations” in Seller Central Help (Amazon).

How do I reactivate my account?
To reactivate your selling account, please send us the following:
A plan of action that explains:
– The root cause(s).
– The actions you have taken to resolve the notices of infringement or violation of Amazon’s policies.
– The steps you have taken to prevent infringement or violating Amazon’s policies.

If you believe your account was deactivated in error, follow the instructions at the bottom of the Reactivate Your Account page and provide following information:
– An explanation of why the deactivation should be reversed.
– Evidence supporting your belief that this was an error.

For security reasons, we only accept attachments in the following file formats: .jpeg, .jpg, .pjpeg, .gif, .png, .tiff. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.

How do I send the required information?
Please submit this information by clicking the “Reactivate your account” button on Account Health (Amazon Sign-In).

What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information, your account will remain deactivated and funds in your account may be held for 90 days or longer. Depending on your account status and activities, you may be required to complete an additional review before funds can be released. Amazon may withhold payments if we determine that your account was used to sell inauthentic or prohibited goods, commit fraud, or engage in other illegal or abusive activity.

I have submitted 5 total POAs. The most recent was made with the assistance of a reinstatement firm that has come highly recommended but the first appeal they made for me was declined.

Here is the most recent submission that I have made today:

I am principal of QueenLouisLLC, and we are writing to appeal our prolonged account suspension which was originally suspended because VictoriaLand Beauty filed an intellectual property complaint against our account. We are committed to complying with Amazon’s Intellectual Property Policy, and delivering a superior shopping experience for Amazon’s customers.

ASIN: B07GDTG3V5

Title: Skin-Loving Elixir Revitalizing Face Oil - Anti-aging, Vitamin Enriched, Skin Care Face Serum (1oz) by VictoriaLand Beauty

Root Cause:

  1. We did not receive previous authorization from VictoriaLand Beauty prior to listing one of their products for sale on Amazon.

  2. We did not promptly appeal the false IP claims when we first received notice about it.

  3. We neglected to make our storefront clear to VictoriaLand Beauty, resulting in a report of counterfeit violations.

  4. We did not properly understand the nature of the product we were selling and our supplier’s relationship with VictoriaLand Beauty.

  5. Past Policy Violation notifications were also not attended to in a timely fashion but have since been addressed.

  6. Item that received IP complaint did not have the most current packaging and therefore may have lead to suspicions of being counterfeit.

The actions you have taken to resolve the issue:

  1. We have removed this item from our inventory and have closed the listing. We have audited our inventory and removed any products that may be at risk for IP claims.

Removal Order: 201112ZI5 for ASIN B004XH7GYE that was purchased through the same source as ASIN B07GDTG3V5 that received IP Complaint Type Counterfeit from VictoriaLand Beauty

  1. We developed an improved legal vetting process before we launch or sell any new products to verify legal rights to all designs and intellectual property including trademark rights.

a. We verify supply chain authenticity and ensure that we only purchase products from authorized dealers.

  1. We have hired an external lawyer to audit inventory and to ensure our own brand will not infringe upon any trademark rights of any party.

  2. We completed a thorough retraining of our team about the importance of verifying intellectual property before listing products.

a. This included a comprehensive infringement prevention workshop conducted by our intellectual property lawyer.

  1. If any listings do not comply as stated by our attorney, we will not list or sell the product on the Amazon platform.

  2. Once a month, we audit our entire inventory against all product listings and manufacturer information to ensure no infringement exists.

  3. We thoroughly check the USPTO for any trademark, patent, or other infringing material before listing on a new product.

  4. We have re-reviewed Amazon Seller Policies, particularly the Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions Policy, Intellectual Property Policy and the Anti Counterfeiting Policy.

  5. We have reached out to the Brand/ Right’s Owner of the brand letting them know that we will not ever be selling products again. They have responded with a willingness to retract the claim, however, retraction has not taken place as of yet.

  6. We issued refunds to customers of this item that requested a return due to their concerns about the item.
    Preventative Measures:

  7. We have deleted the item that received the IP Complaint and any product where we do not have written authorization from the brand to sell the items.

  8. We will never source or sell other brands in the future without authorization.

  9. We will search all pertinent terms, logos and marks in the USPTO database ensure there is no infringement and will continue to do so for all future items listed on Amazon.

  10. Moving forward, we are always up to date on all of Amazon’s intellectual property policies so that we can proactively address any infringement allegations immediately.

  11. We have hired an external lawyer to audit all listing compliance and creation policies to avoid future rights ownership issues

  12. We have instituted multiple new Quality Assurance steps to ensure that items are accurately listed and described so as to avoid authenticity complaints or right’s ownership issues on any company making the same or similar products.

  13. We have retrained our staff on Amazon Best Seller Practices. We have read through Amazon’s Selling Policies and have implemented changes in our business to adhere to them.

  14. Account Health Performance will be checked on a daily basis to insure that policy alerts and violations are dealt with immediately to prevent seller performance escalations.

CONCLUSION

We take full responsibility for the satisfaction of Amazon’s customers. My team and I have worked diligently to correct the cause of these complaints, and to prevent future issues. As such, we respectfully request that Amazon consider our efforts and reinstate our selling privileges. Thank you for working with us to resolve this issue.

2

Hello,

I understand that you have been facing a suspension of your Amazon selling account due to an intellectual property (IP) complaint that was not properly addressed. You mentioned that you submitted invoices, but they were not accepted by Amazon. Additionally, you overlooked providing a plan of action in the email you received from them.

The initial email from Amazon stated that your account was deactivated because they were unable to verify information related to your seller account or receive any new information regarding your listings or selling history. They provided a link to the Account Health dashboard where you can view your account performance and details on the ASIN(s) involved.

To reactivate your account, Amazon requested a plan of action that explains the following:

  1. The root cause(s) of the issue.
  2. The actions you have taken to resolve the notices of infringement or violations of Amazon’s policies.
  3. The steps you have taken to prevent future infringements or violations of Amazon’s policies.

If you believe that the deactivation was in error, they provided instructions at the bottom of the Reactivate Your Account page to explain why the deactivation should be reversed and to provide evidence supporting your belief that it was an error.

You mentioned that you have submitted a total of 5 plans of action (POAs), and the most recent one was made with the assistance of a reinstatement firm. However, the first appeal made by the reinstatement firm on your behalf was declined.

The most recent submission you provided today outlines the root cause of the issue, the actions you have taken to resolve it, and the preventive measures you have implemented. It includes steps such as removing the item in question from your inventory, auditing your inventory to remove products at risk for IP claims, improving your legal vetting process, hiring an external lawyer to audit inventory, conducting retraining on intellectual property and infringement prevention, and issuing refunds to concerned customers.

You also mentioned reaching out to the brand/rights owner to communicate your decision to not sell their products again and their willingness to retract the claim, although the retraction has not taken place yet.

In your plan of action, you provided a comprehensive list of preventive measures, including deleting unauthorized items, ensuring written authorization for selling branded products, conducting thorough checks for infringement, staying up to date on Amazon’s intellectual property policies, hiring external lawyers for compliance audits, implementing quality assurance steps, and retraining your staff on best seller practices.

Considering the efforts you have made to address the issue and prevent future infringements, you respectfully request that Amazon reviews your plan and reinstates your selling privileges.

While your plan of action appears thorough and addresses the necessary points, it’s important to note that reinstatement decisions are ultimately made by Amazon, and there is no guarantee of reinstatement. It’s advisable to monitor your email and Seller Central account for any updates or notifications from Amazon.

If you have any additional evidence or information to support your case, I recommend including it in your appeal. It’s also a good idea to continue following up with Amazon, either directly or through the reinstatement firm you mentioned, to ensure your appeal is being reviewed.

I hope this information helps, and I wish you the best of luck in resolving the suspension of your Amazon selling account.