False IP Trademark Infringement Complaint - Trade Dress versus Word Mark
There is a competitor who is systematically filing Word Mark Trademarks with the USPTO, and then submits IP Infringement claims to Amazon to have all competing sellers removed from the product space based on the appearance of the product itself.
Amazon is broadly assigning Trade Dress protections to this Claimant, which is the crux of the issue. As a result, myself and many other sellers in this space have had our listing closed by Amazon.
Amazon is not distinguishing between a basic Word Mark (what the Claimant is using to file these IP complaints), and Trade Dress (Protects the look and feel of a product or service, including its size, shape, color, texture, and graphics.).
The bar for obtaining Trade Dress through the USPTO is MUCH higher, and the Claimant would have failed the necessary criteria of Distinctiveness, Non-functionality, Exclusivity, and Uniqueness.
As a result, all of my products were blocked, and I have been forced to initiate a very expensive removal order of thousands of units.
For clarity, the product is a generic letter opener. The trademarks filed by the Claimant are simple black and white images of different styles of already existing generic letter openers.
False IP Trademark Infringement Complaint - Trade Dress versus Word Mark
There is a competitor who is systematically filing Word Mark Trademarks with the USPTO, and then submits IP Infringement claims to Amazon to have all competing sellers removed from the product space based on the appearance of the product itself.
Amazon is broadly assigning Trade Dress protections to this Claimant, which is the crux of the issue. As a result, myself and many other sellers in this space have had our listing closed by Amazon.
Amazon is not distinguishing between a basic Word Mark (what the Claimant is using to file these IP complaints), and Trade Dress (Protects the look and feel of a product or service, including its size, shape, color, texture, and graphics.).
The bar for obtaining Trade Dress through the USPTO is MUCH higher, and the Claimant would have failed the necessary criteria of Distinctiveness, Non-functionality, Exclusivity, and Uniqueness.
As a result, all of my products were blocked, and I have been forced to initiate a very expensive removal order of thousands of units.
For clarity, the product is a generic letter opener. The trademarks filed by the Claimant are simple black and white images of different styles of already existing generic letter openers.
0 replies
Jim_Amazon
Hi there @Seller_h3lKxd9Dq0gqN
Are you referring to the 3 ASINs being impacted on your Account Health Dashboard? I'm not a trademark attorney, but from what I found, the trademark that those infringed on is a design mark and I've never heard of Trade Dress.
Have you submitted an appeal on any of these ASINs yet?
-Jim
