Detailed explanation of copyright issues and product selection challenges for Amazon sellers
Amazon, as one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, provides countless merchants with vast market space and development opportunities. However, while enjoying the dividends it brings, Amazon sellers also need to face a series of complex challenges, among which copyright issues and product selection strategies are particularly prominent.
Copyright issues response strategies
Independent station complaints and link snatching
Recently, there have been a large number of independent website complaints against sellers on the Amazon platform, resulting in many links to best-selling products being seized by competitors. In response to this situation, sellers can respond in the following ways:
- Register a trademark in the United States and ensure that the brand name has a good market ranking;
- Consider registering the same trademark in other countries (such as the UK) and establishing an independent site;
- Use the store function to conduct a test purchase (Test Buy) of suspected infringing product links;
- If you find infringement, you can report it through the Amazon brand interface.
It is worth noting that when Amazon receives a brand infringement complaint, its system will only determine whether it is infringing based on the brand name rather than the specific trademark registration number, which means that even if the complaining party holds a trademark from another country Trademark rights may also be deemed to have ownership of the US trademark, resulting in the original seller losing control of the sales link. Therefore, completing trademark registration in each target market in a timely manner is one of the key steps to protect one’s own rights and interests.
Store ban and fund appeal
When a seller’s account is frozen due to suspected infringement, after the 90-day period is over, you can try to submit a fund unfreezing application to the platform. Before doing so, be sure to prepare a thorough action plan that details what caused the violation, the corrective actions that have been taken, and plans to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
Image infringement processing
For image infringement issues, it is recommended to provide the following materials to support the appeal request:
- Original RAW format photo files – these files are usually only available to the original creator;
- Copyright certification documents related to photographic works, including but not limited to photography contracts, etc.
Notes on product selection
The importance of market research
Blind product selection often lacks necessary market research support and can easily lead to failure. Therefore, before deciding on a product direction, you should make full use of the various analytical tools provided by Amazon to assess market demand and potential risks.
Avoid selecting high-frequency products
Although items that are frequently used in daily life may have higher sales potential, they also face more quality problems and after-sales service requirements, which poses a challenge to maintaining the long-term reputation of the store.
Treat “Red Ocean” areas with caution
Despite the large market size of some popular categories, new entrants often struggle to gain sufficient market share due to fierce competition. Therefore, extreme caution should be exercised when deciding whether to enter such markets.
Selection of suppliers
High-quality suppliers are the basis for ensuring product quality and service levels. Therefore, a comprehensive inspection of its production capacity, quality control system, etc. should be conducted before cooperation.
Registered brand trademark
Registering a brand trademark not only helps to enhance product credibility, but also lays a good foundation for future diversified marketing activities.
Calculate accurate profit margin
Accurately calculating product profit margins is critical to formulating a sound pricing strategy. Only by clarifying the expected revenue level can the entire sales process be ensured to go smoothly.
In short, Amazon sellers need to always pay attention to changes in copyright laws and regulations during their business operations, and at the same time pay attention to the scientificity and rationality of product selection strategies, so that they can remain invincible in the fierce market competition.