ROOT CAUSE OF PARALLEL IMPORT ISSUES: We source products from what we believe was a licensed supplier who was selling GENERIC ITEMS. This issue happened as we were not aware that we needed rights to sell certain products in the UK. Our Amazon Store could not be verified as an authorized seller of the reported brand (ZAVIA) products, which had led to complaints from the right owners. The Intellectual property rights owners prohibit us from importing or selling their goods in the UK unless you, your supplier or an upstream supplier have the rights owner’s consent to sell the items in the EEA or UK (i.e., the products are “exhausted” in the EEA or the UK).

THE ROOT CAUSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMPLAINTS: We thought that by merging into existing listings, we would be able to sell quickly and profitably. There was no need for approval connected to Intellectual Property. When using the ‘Add a product’ and ‘Sell yours’ tools to add our offer to these existing listings. Unfortunately, we did not train our staff to understand the attribute ‘brand’, and they ended up listing items without any inspections.

ROOT CAUSE OF COUNTERFEIT ISSUES: To avoid counterfeit problems, we should have implemented a listing inspection station and supervised the listing process. We acknowledge that we could not identify ourselves as an AUTHORIZED re-seller of the REPORTED ASINS it has led rights owners to believe that we sold an item without their permission, leading them to believe COUNTERFEIT products were sold. It was our assumption that we could list merchandise without a LOA.

• We planned to source items from manufacturers themselves, but instead of purchasing stock and acquiring a Letter of authorization before listing the product, we decided to Dropship these items once we received orders for them.
• Furthermore, our sourcing procedure did not include checks related to supply chain verification, Product authenticity verification and acquiring a Brand Authorization letter prior to listing products on Amazon. Therefore, Amazon could also not verify our store as an authorized seller of the reported brands, which led them to believe that a COUNTERFEIT item was listed.

ROOT CAUSE OF COMPLAINTS RELATED TO COUNTERFEIT ITEMS: Our team was not adequately trained to follow all checks to ensure that we only sell & fulfill only authentic items. As we did not have the correct understanding of the authenticity checks which must be conducted, we ended up sourcing items from an unreliable source for which we are completely responsible.
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/201165970

• It was our assumption that we could list merchandise without an LOA. As we could not identify ourselves as an AUTHORIZED re-seller of the stated BRANDS, it has led rights owners to believe that we sold an item without their permission, leading them to believe COUNTERFEIT products were sold.
• Detail pages appeared to be GENERIC (UNBRANDED), and we assumed we could map on reported ASINs as we are selling similar products. We were unaware that we need approval from brand owners to list those products nor our supplier can provide us those documents, as the products we purchased from them were Generic hence leading to the conclusion that COUNTERFEIT items had been sold

THE TEAM MEMBERS HAVE BEEN IMMEDIATELY TRAINED ON HOW TO ENSURE WE DO NOT SELL PARALLEL IMPORT GOODS IN THE FUTURE: Make sure we only sell products on Amazon’s UK marketplace which we have imported into the EEA or UK ourselves, with the rights owner’s consent (including their consent for us to sell in the EEA and UK), or which we have sourced – directly or indirectly – from a supplier who has been authorised by the rights owner to import or sell the products in either the EEA or UK (e.g. an authorised subsidiary of the rights owner or an authorized EEA or a UK distributor).

TRAINING SESSIONS: We hired a senior Manager who has expertise in policies regarding trademarks, patents, and other Intellectual Property rights. He would be conducting monthly and weekly training on the policies that are applicable to our business. He would be responsible for and monitoring the listing of the products as well. The listing process would always require his approval. He would make sure each employee is well acquainted with Amazon’s policies as per AMAZON SELLER UNIVERSITY GUIDELINES. He might give an additional training session to new employees and those who need it. He would report back to the management team about the improvements and assessment of training sessions regularly. In case any employee is found to be reporting the same violation or not performing according to the training provided, he will be liable for his own termination or disciplinary action on an immediate basis. THE COURSES PROVIDED BY AMAZON SELLER UNIVERSITY HAVE GIVEN THE WHOLE TEAM A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO RUN OUR BUSINESS.

• ANTI-COUNTERFEIT https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/201165970
• IPR:  https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/external/201361070
• Intellectual Property Office – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/intellectual-property-office
• Trademarks: https://www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/trade-marks
• Patents: https://www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/patents
• IPO website – Intellectual Property Office – GOV.UK: https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmtext.htm
• EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) – Home – https://euipo.europa.eu/
• UK Intellectual Property Office | indirect: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/uk-intellectual-property-office