Intellectual Property complaints

These kinds of violations are typically grouped into two distinct categories: Suspected and Received. The primary difference between these two is the origin of the complaint.

1. Suspected complaints are usually system generated and typically require edits to the listing to remove any infringing content.
2. Received Intellectual Property complaints are more complicated. They usually originate when a rights owner makes a direct complaint about that particular listing to Amazon. As a result, the appeal path will vary depending on the violation sub reason. The most commonly seen reasons are:

• Counterfeit
• Counterfeit without a Test Buy
• Trademark
• Copyright
• Patent complaints.

Since the appeal path will vary so much depending on the type of violation that is present, it is important to note that when creating posts in the Forums to address these kinds of violations, as much information that can be provided will be requested from Selling Partners by our moderator team. When addressing Intellectual Property complaints, Selling Partners will need to demonstrate they have authorization to sell the product.

Authenticity Complaints

Product Authenticity Customer Complaints, Product Condition Customer Complaints, and Food and Safety Issues violations would fall under the realm of the authenticity of the product. While there are nuances to the appeal paths, generally speaking, an invoice verifying the authenticity of the product affected by any violations will be needed to successfully appeal these kinds of violations. Additional steps may be required based on the sub reason for the violation. For this reason, as much detail about the violation itself would be requested.

Restricted Products

When a listing is believed to not be sellable on the platform, it will likely incur a Restricted Products violation. These can be very nuanced, but they will also typically have the most information given to Selling Partners regarding how to address them. From the violation itself, on the left side of the page under the “Reason” column, there is often a “Review policy” link. By clicking on this drop down, Sellers are able to see which of the policies the listing is believed to have violated. There will be a description of what policy has been breached as well as a link to the actual policy itself. From there, Selling Partners can begin to formulate their response to the violation.

Typically, the dispute path would be utilised in this instance, as Selling Partners will want to demonstrate how their listings are within compliance with the relevant policy from which the violation was derived. This may include actions such as editing triggering keywords from the listing and providing evidence that the product is compliant with the flagged policy or that the violation was incurred in error.

Policy Violation Warnings

Policy Violation Warnings are located at the very bottom of the violation box and are separated from the other categories by a “View All” hyperlink. This separation from the other violation categories can cause this section to be overlooked. However, if violations do appear in this category, they would still need to be addressed in a timely manner, as they generally will impact the AHR score.

While the other violation types will typically fall into one overall generalised category, Policy Violation Warnings can be quite different from each other. As such, there is a wide variance in terms of both the impact on the AHR score (and, by default, overall Account Health) as well as the scope of the violations themselves. Therefore, it is highly recommended to provide the exact violation verbiage as well as any corresponding performance notifications when asking for assistance. This way, our moderators will have a better understanding of the exact issue and will be able to provide better guidance when assistance is requested.

Summary

While there are other violations that can appear on the Account Health page, these are the most common violations that Selling Partners will see that will likely affect their AHR score. When addressing the types of violations that have been described, the information provided will need to have a purpose behind the submission. The goal for Selling Partners when addressing Intellectual Property violations would be to show that they have authorization to sell the product. For authenticity complaints, Selling Partners are looking to establish that the item in question is an authentic item that is accurately depicted on the Product Detail Page. For restricted products, Selling Partners will want to establish that no deviation from policy is taking place.

Because each violation will face its own unique challenges, this guide is by no means an all-inclusive checklist to address listing issues but rather a high-level view of the violations themselves and how they can be addressed. Selling Partners are always welcome and encouraged to contact our Account Health team for further assistance when addressing these violations.

Further information can also be found here:

Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers

Respond to an intellectual property (IP) policy violation

Amazon product authenticity and quality

Product Quality and Authenticity Policy compliance

Restricted Products