There are several brands on Amazon where it is not a good idea to sell those particular brands. Why you ask? Because those brands may file an “Intellectual Property Violation” against your Amazon account if you try to sell those brands. And too many IP complaints could get your Amazon account deactivated.
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What is an Intellectual Property Violation?
According to Lexology, intellectual property (IP) infringement refers to any violation or breach of protected intellectual property rights. There are three main types of IP rights on Amazon:
- Copyrights are legal protections for original works of authorship
- Trademarks are legal protections for a word, symbol, design, or combination of the same that a company uses to identify goods and services
- Patents are legal protections for inventions
In layman’s terms, they basically all mean you are not authorized to sell their brand, even though Amazon had no brand restrictions. If you receive an IP violation, there will be a Performance Warning in Amazon Seller Central under Performance > Account Health > Product Policy Compliance > Received Intellectual Property, and you will receive an email from Amazon. Here is an example of what the email from Amazon looks like. It will have the subject line: “Notice: Policy Warning” and come from notice@amazon.com
To avoid receiving these dreadful emails, the best advice we can give is to avoid selling the brands that are known to file complaints. I wish Amazon would restrict users from even having the choice to add these brands, but alas they do not, so many (me included) learned about these brands the hard way. I have been compiling a list of brands on Amazon that have personally filed an IP complaint against me or other reputable resellers and/or have sent out a legal cease and desist letter to me or them.
List of 250+ Restricted Brands On Amazon
In some cases (as noted), the brand will let you sell their product as “Used-Like New”, so be sure to list the item correctly when adding it to your inventory to avoid an IP claim. Please note that this list does not contain gated brands.
- 1Com
- 3Ns
- Air
- Akai
- Algenist
- Alpha
- Altec Lansing
- Amovo
- Amway
- Andoer
- Angels Fancy Dress
- Angelsounds
- Ann Willaims
- Apple
- Aquapix
- Artistry
- Atmosphere
- Audio Technica
- Audiotech
- Aunt Jackie’s
- AZO
- Bactimicina
- Baby Born
- Baby Bullet
- Baby Dumpling
- Babyganics (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Babyliss
- Babyplus
- Baggallini
- Base Camp Outfitters
- Bassbuds
- Beaba
- Beachbody
- Bear
- Beauty Pet
- Berwick
- Besdata
- Bestomz
- Bethesda
- BH Cosmetics
- BIC (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Biolite
- Bissell
- Blitzball
- Blue Microphones
- Bodum
- Bose
- Boston
- Bpro
- Bracoo
- Bratz
- Braun
- Britannia
- Britax
- Broncosan
- Buck
- Bulbhead
- Butterick
- C’est Moi
- Caldrea (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Canary
- Canon
- Capital Brands
- Chemex
- Chinkyboo
- Chloe
- Christian Dior
- City Scene
- Coleman
- Comfylife
- Comic Concept
- Comic Images
- Comic Maker
- Contour Living
- Cra-Z-Art
- Craft-tastic
- Crocs
- Crosley
- Culturelle
- Curls
- Davidoff
- DBPower
- De La Cruz
- Deejo
- Dermelect
- Deuter
- Discovery
- Discovery #Mindblown
- Discovery Kids
- Discovery Toys
- DLC Laboratories
- Dog & Bone
- Dr. Ginger’s
- Duracell (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Earth’s Care
- EasyPix
- EB5
- Eero
- ESpring
- Estroven
- Etereauty
- Eureka
- Faber-Castell
- FAO Schwarz
- Favorite Findings
- Fifty/Fifty
- Finlo
- First com
- Firstline
- Fissler GmbH
- Fitbit
- Fitlife
- FoxyBae
- Fremantle
- Frye
- Fujifilm
- Garunk
- Gel-A-Peel
- Georgie
- Glade (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Glitzhome
- Globulo Rojo
- Cn Netcom
- Go Donut
- Go Extreme
- GoPro
- Grace & Stella
- Griffin
- Guess
- Hammer + Axe
- Hape
- Harry’s
- Hauptstadtkoffer
- Havex
- Helen Of Troy
- Helle
- Heos
- Home-it
- Honest Baby
- Honestly Cute
- Huion
- i2o
- Ikea
- Implus Footcare
- Inkrite
- Inkwrite
- Inova
- Ion
- iRobot
- Italkonline
- Ito Professional
- Jabra
- Jansport
- Jennifer Lopez
- Jet Creations
- Jil Sander
- Kate Spade
- Kidsbo
- Kilner
- Kitchenaid
- Kitsound
- Klean Kanteen
- Klipsch
- Koolatron
- Kylie Cosmetics
- La Roche Posay
- Lalaloopsy
- LaMode
- Lavanila
- Leatherman Tool
- Leicke
- LELO
- Levi’s
- Linxor
- Livivo
- LOL Suprise
- Luga
- Lush
- Macoon
- Madre Perla de Ultratez
- Magic Bullet
- Marantz
- Medela
- Mederma
- Memory Soft
- Method (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Might Dog
- MiroPure
- Mommy’s Bliss
- Monsieur Bebe
- Moulin Roty
- Mrs. Myers (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Nature’s Way
- Neat Company
- Neato Robotics
- Neewer
- Nikon
- Ninja Blenders
- Noco
- NutriBullet
- Ocusan
- OFF! (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Opinet
- Osmo
- Otter Box
- Paddington Bear
- Patagonia
- Pet Armor
- Philips
- Picci
- Piggy Paint
- Pioneer
- Presonus
- Ovega-3
- Que Bella
- Quita Piojos
- Raid (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Rainbow Light
- Rainbow Loom
- Razer
- Razor
- Red Castle
- Refinery and Co.
- Renew Life
- RoC Skincare
- Rock the Locks
- RockTape
- Rodan + Fields
- Samsonite
- Sanofi
- Sharper Image
- Scosche
- SGX NYC
- Sol Republic
- SOPHi
- Sound United
- Square
- Step 2
- Super Macho
- Sunwise
- Switchmate
- Systane
- Table Mate
- Tangible Play
- The Black Series
- The Mane Choice
- Thirsty Milo
- Tommy Bahama
- TOMS
- Tonka
- Tummy Tucker
- Ugg
- UP4
- Vaporex
- Victoria’s Secret
- Vital Proteins
- Wet Brush
- Yes To
- Yeti
- Xyzal
- Zagg (can sell as Used-Like New)
- Zap
- Zippo
- Zoom
Are we missing any Amazon Restricted Brands? If you have received an IP violation and/or cease and desist from a brand that we don’t have listed, please contact us to add that brand to the list. We will require that you actually send us proof before we add that brand to the list. It’s unfortunate that we have to do that, but unfortunately not every Amazon seller plays fair. Please keep in mind if you see other lists of Amazon restricted brands, that they may have added brands that they sell a lot of in hopes of keeping other sellers from becoming their competition.
IP Violation Response Email Template
Hello [NAME],
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.
All of our inventory for this product was purchased brand new from [STORE], an authorized distributor. We double-checked to make sure the product that we bought matched the description, title, and image on the existing Amazon listing exactly. We then sent the product to a Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) warehouse. Since this item was purchased from an authorized source, and this inventory can be traced back directly to the manufacturer, this is not an intellectual property rights violation.
We have been selling on Amazon for [LENGTH OF TIME], and we would never want to risk our business by sending in a product that was not authentic, brand new, conforming to all of Amazon’s policies and procedures.
We would appreciate it if you would retract your complaints against us (seller SELLER NAME). In the meantime, we have taken down our Amazon listings per your request. Please let me know if you need any further information to resolve this issue.
Thank you,
NAME