Protecting my Trademark

[welshred]

I have an ongoing problem with rival sellers on Amazon advertising their products on product pages that we have created under our own brand name. Our brand name is also our business name and that name is a registered protected mark. When we create products on Amazon we do so under this name so that if a potential customer was to find one of our products in the search results on Amazon it will clearly show the brand name in the advert.

What happens is other sellers who offer "generically" similar products add themselves to the product page which then gives the consumer a choice between which seller to purchase from, some of our own products now have dozens of rival sellers claiming to be selling our branded product but they are not and we cannot get them removed. They are giving the impression to the customer that they are selling our branded product but they are not. What makes things worse is because the product itself is quite basic and there are plenty of alternative brand options available that will do the same job customers don't complain when they receive the product from a seller other than ourselves because the product does/will generically match ours so the customer is happy enough. We on the other hand are losing sales to other sellers claiming to be selling "our" branded product but in fact supply a generic like for like. I really do not know what to do and need help urgently from someone who has either dealt with this issue successfully or a professional expert in this field.

Please help.

 

[welshred]

Is there really no-one who can help here?

 

[fisicx]

Have you spoken to Amazon?

If you can get them to to block people using your trademark you can then chase the perpetrators in the courts. There are a few IP/trademark members on this forum who will be able to help - try sending them a PM as they probably won't have seen this thread at the weekend.

 

[welshred]

Thanks for your reply, we have asked Amazon to remove the infringers by filling out their "notice of infringement" form however they refused our complaint and suggested we get legal advice if we have any concerns about our rights. I have complained to the ASA (advertising standards authority) but I need to allow up to 10 days for a response.

Amazon has suggested ordering from the other sellers to show it does not match however I did this before and they still took no action and to be honest there are so many listings and infringers that a test purchase from each is simply not practical. Also the rate at which new sellers come along and infringe mean that it would be an endless task.

I don't see why we should have to buy the product, these sellers are advertising against an advert that carries our protected mark, I don't see why that alone is not enough as they are falsely advertising as our brand.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Take legal action against Amazon.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Contact the sellers with a Cease & Desist letter, threatening action - copy amazon on this.

BTW, kick up too much fuss with Amazon and you might be delisted - I hope you have other routes to market!

 

[Trademarkroom]

If you have a registered trademark and others are using your brand in a commercial sense without your consent then they maybe committing trademark infringement.

If you'd like to get in touch we are happy to offer a free consultation

[email protected]

 

[Business News]

I had the same issue with my companies registered trademark and a new company starting up with the same company trading name (but a different registered company name) and very similar logo. They say its the best form of flattery but I'm not convinced.

I wrote to the company managing director at the companies registered address to make them aware of the 'possible' infringement and invited them to talk with me concerning a licence arrangement or to rename and rebrand their operations. That was ignored so 1 month later I wrote again noting they had ignored my correspondence and stating I reserve the right to pursue damages from the date of my original letter if they were successful.

This tack proved more persuasive as they have the threat hanging over them that I would be seeking back dated damages, but only if they were successful. This way I didn't spend lots of money and the potential infringer was left wondering what could be. They subsequently complied with my request.

Lets face it, there is nothing to be gained from making threats to a new business. You only want to sue the pants off a successful business.