Another category of products has been removed from the shelves in batches!

Peak season scanning seems to have become a law of Amazon. After sellers reported that their accounts were blocked due to illegal variant scanning, many sellers recently said that another category of products was removed from the shelves in batches, and some links that originally had considerable sales suddenly disappeared.

Products were removed from the shelves in batches, is Amazon scanning the numbers again?

If we talk about the most popular categories in the cross-border e-commerce field, beauty and personal care must occupy a seat, and the sales and popularity of collections are at the forefront of the platform. Its sub-category of curling irons has performed well on Amazon and TikTok. Many Chinese sellers have frequently entered this track and received a lot of orders, but some problems have occurred recently.

"All the links to a popular curling iron on Amazon have disappeared," said a seller. The first time this hot item was discovered was in March. At that time, there were about 50 links to the same type of curling iron in different colors on Amazon's US site. It can be said that at least more than 20 sellers were selling the same curling iron, which is enough to prove how popular this single product is.

Upon closer inspection, it can be found that this curling iron has purple, pink and other styles, with monthly sales ranging from hundreds to thousands. The longest-selling link was created about three or four years ago. A manufacturer said that it has been selling this product for nearly ten years and there is no appearance patent in the United States.

However, recently the link of this curling iron could not be found on the platform. In this regard, sellers have multiple speculations. Some speculated that it was scanned by Amazon, and they were worried that their heatless curling irons might also be scanned later. However, some sellers believed that it was an infringement and they were complained by competitors.

According to the seller, although this product does not have the same product patent in WIPO, the structure of this product is similar to the registered product. Therefore, it is speculated that the product appearance patent may be infringed, and the competitor has filed a batch of complaints about these links.

"Recently, I have been frequently reported without reason, and product links have been removed from the shelves," one seller admitted. The same situation is not only happening on the Amazon platform, but also on Walmart, where many unscrupulous sellers use links to kill their competitors. The key is that they can also apply for reporting through the platform, which has already affected multiple categories.

According to the patent infringement theory, this is not the first time that the popular curling iron has been involved in such a situation, but most of the time, it is the brand sellers who own the patents who are protecting their rights. In the cross-border circle, the curling iron brands that are more popular include TYMO, Dyson, etc. Their products are popular on multiple Amazon sites, and they have also applied for multiple patents.

Dyson is the most frequent in defending its rights. As a leader in the field of personal care, Dyson, a patent holder, has previously launched rights protection for its curling irons many times, which has made many sellers panic, because Dyson has applied for patents for all its products, even the parts of each product.

Being blocked due to infringement is a common topic in the cross-border circle. Almost all sellers have had the same experience. Brands have successively defended their rights, peers have filed complaints in batches, and the funds of infringing sellers have been frozen and their accounts have been blocked. Recently, infringement cases have also occurred frequently. In addition to the curling iron category, many categories have also been hit by infringement cases initiated by brands.

Frequent infringement cases have caused a major shake-up in categories, and thousands of listings may be removed

Trademark infringement. Tesla is a familiar name to everyone. It is a company that mainly deals in electric vehicles, solar panels, and energy storage equipment. However, it is also a hard-hit area for trademark infringement. Tesla has applied for dozens of patents for its brand name TESLA and its logo. This time, Tesla has taken action to protect its rights, and has sued more than 800 stores, which shows how strong its rights protection efforts are.

Barbie , which has always been regarded as a favorite by girls, is also a hot spot for infringement. Searching for Barbie on Amazon, there are more than 10,000 related listings, involving toys, clothing, books and other categories. Recently, in order to protect its rights, the brand has successively launched two cases of infringement lawsuits, involving as many as 107 trademarks, including the word trademark Barbie.

Patent infringement. As a phenomenal product that was popular on Amazon, the popularity of fascia guns once attracted many sellers, and even a lot of "Amazon sellers traded fascia guns to buy houses in Shenzhen" was said. Regardless of the facts, you can't deny the popularity of fascia guns. Previously, a colleague offered a reward of 500,000 to find the black hand that attacked the company's brand, which to some extent reflects the profitability of fascia guns.

The money-making ability of the product has made the competition between fascia gun sellers more intense, and malicious attacks between peers are common, not to mention infringement. Hyperice, the originator of fascia guns founded in 2010, has also recently launched a rights protection. It is understood that Hyperice's core products mainly include fascia guns, thermal shock belts, etc. The rights protection initiated this time is mainly for patent infringement.

According to the massage device examples disclosed in the patent, there are exemplary embodiments of the massage device, one of which includes a piston with a longitudinal axis, a massage head connected to the piston, a motor located on a first side of the longitudinal axis, and a handle located on a second side of the longitudinal axis. It is worth noting that the patent was just authorized in early January this year, and the case was filed afterwards, so sellers should be careful.

Image infringement. The plaintiff, Albert Koetsier, is a well-known artist who mainly engages in flower and plant photography. His works are unique in style. Five lawsuits have been filed this year alone, and copyright cases were filed many times from March to May last year. The main issue involved is image infringement, and the rights protection action in 2023 led to the freezing of thousands of stores.

In fact, it is not just the brands mentioned above that have been involved in the case. There are also many brands that are not included in the list, but many sellers have been hurt. As the peak season approaches, not only are brands frantically defending their rights and frequently reporting cases, but the platform has also not stopped its strict investigation of illegal means. Sellers should still be careful.

Curling iron

Infringement

Removed