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Suspected Intellectual Property Violation on using a geographical location in the title - Kent
My listing has been threatened with removal due to a Suspected Intellectual Property Violation.
I see the reason as: trademark misuse(KENT)
Kent is a geographical area (county) in England which I refer to as the location for a photography calendar on my title for my listing and there are numerous examples in the amazon catalog of other UK products referring to Kent as a geographical place. Legally in the UK geographical names are not distinctive enough to be registered as trademarks as they are commonly used to describe the origin or quality of a product or service, so I don't understand why amazon thinks that this is a violation.
Furthermore I believe the trademarked product 'Kent' refers to a comb a completely different product to my calendar so there is no possibility of confusion for a customer.
Amazon seller support so far (case 9918436972) have ignored my point that you can't trademark a geographical location and have told me to remove the word which is not an option as it is the only way to describe the product.
Please could someone help me remove this violation
6 replies
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
You should be able to appeal it on the grounds that Kent is being used in its normal English Meaning.
Although as it is suspected intellectual property violation you are unlikely to get this across to SS and they will just keep on telling you to remove the word or get a letter of authorisation from the trademark owner.
You maybe better to escalate it to the Managing Director team quoting the relevant policy where you can use a word in its normal English Meaning.
Also might be an idea to tag in a Mod as they may be able to get this escalated and resolved for you.
Julia_Amzn
Hello @Seller_JvlkbaSvuZzZI,
Thank you addressing your case and following the appeal tips recommended by @Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn. @Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn, thank you for sharing this guidance 😊.
I´ve been working on improvement of this process in the thread Fair Use of Someone else’s Trademark.
If you ever encounter a similar scenario, please submit an appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful, please reach out to me.
All the best,
Julia.
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