Account Suspension Notice - Trademark misuse
Account Health - Suspended Account - Trademark misuse
First time this has happened in over 10 years of selling on Amazon - our account health when from a solid green at 94% one day to red at 0% the next. We were told we had 72 hours to clean up the TM misuse. Not wanting to miss a beat, I addressed it the same day. 3 days came and went, 4 days, 5 days, and then the account was suspended.
When speaking with an Account Health specialist, they noticed the account had been suspended on December 29 (2024) and we had addressed the issue - from the same ASINs - in an Appeal and the account was re-instated on December 31. She noticed it was the same issue and the same ASINs so we were directed to provide copies of the communications (screen shots) that showed the account had been re-instated.
It appears that the system was never updated to reflect that we had sufficiently addressed the matter, considering the account had been re-instated? After re-submitting an Appeal with some additional detail we are being told that the information is insufficient for the re-instatement of our account.
The TMs in question are listings that were removed from, and blacklisted in, our system and deleted from Amazon's. We list new and used products from a number of sources and since all our products are one-offs (typically CDs, DVDs, audio cassettes, and video games), we only list products where there are a sufficient number of them already listed on an existing Amazon product page.
When a rights owner sends a demand notice to Amazon to remove a product page from their catalog, we get a notice and remove/delete the listing. Of course, this can happen to any product page at any time, so we have to address these notices immediately upon receipt (which we do) or our Account Health goes to yellow, and eventually red before receiving a potential suspension notice.
This is the first time (in over 10 years) I've seen us go from a high green one day to a red (0) the next - for an issue that had been addressed just a couple months previously - leading to our account suspension. Anyone have a similar experience where Amazon may have not updated their system (?) and your account was suspended as a result? How did you address this? Our initial appeal (2 months ago) was sufficient, but now we seem to be stuck in a perpetual loop of needing to provide additional information for something that was already addressed.
Thanks for any insight or guidance.
10 replies
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
A lot has changed in the last 10 years, especially over the last year.
Account suspension for ANY IP violation is the norm now and unless you can proof they made a mistake, permanent.
Read THIS post for more info on Amazon 2025.
Levi_Dylan_Amazon
Hello @Seller_vdkSsqROUtpVn,
Thank you for posting concerns with your account deactivation here on the forums.
From what you have shared, this sounds like after previously addressing trademark concerns on your account, this has triggered a repeat/critical violation on your account and you are seeking guidance as to what your next steps will look like to get this resolved. I do understand that the lack of clarity in the appeal requirements and the significant impact to your business is causing you confusion and concern, so I would like to provide assistance however I can.
Typically, if you receive a violation for trademark misuse it will have a low impact individually and may be addressed by editing the listing or taking an acknowledgement that there was an error. When the same type of issue occurs repeatedly in a 180 day period, this can trigger a critical violation where you will be asked not only to address the violations but provide a holistic plan to prevent this type of violation from occurring in the future.
The plan must be comprehensive and identify specifically what went wrong (how your listings were in violation), what steps you have taken to address the issue (edited/deleted the listing) and what you have implemented to prevent this from happening moving forward (what process have you implemented to ensure your listings do not infringe any other's trademark/which trainings have you and your employees taken-provide links). If your plan is not detailed enough or does not provide sufficient evidence that the trademark concerns will not continue to occur, the review team will be unable to resolve the critical violation.
So that I can review this further, can you please provide me with a case log ID from your account? If you do not have an associated case, please create one and share the case ID here once you have done so. I am including some account health rating resources for you to review, along with a guide to writing a successful appeal and intellectual property specifics.
--Account Health Rating: Frequently Asked Questions
--Account Health Rating program policy
--Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers
--Write an effective Plan of Action (POA)
I hope that this information has been helpful for you and I look forward to your response. The forums community and I are here to support you.
Wishing you the best,
LeviDylan
