Client Win: Protecting Amazon Sellers from Platform Overreach

"Many businesses worldwide depend on Amazon for most or all of their sales. To suddenly find that your listings have been removed can feel like the rug has been pulled from under your feet"

Virtuoso Legal Protect Amazon Sellers from Delisting

Virtuoso Legal are delighted to announce that the IP disputes team has protected sellers of shoes on Amazon from having their listings removed entirely from the platform.

Virtuoso Legal's clients received notice that their listings were to be taken down on account of suspected trade mark infringement, and found themselves at great difficulty and inconvenience in engaging with Amazon's internal appeal process in relation to defending their case and restoring their listings.

The trade mark that Amazon based their suspensions on was the infamous Louboutin "red sole" EU trade mark.

The shoes in question did not feature a red sole, as such the defendants in this instance were bemused as to the rationale behind Amazon's delisting of their items.

Furthermore, upon contacting Louboutin in relation to the claim, the latter stated that they had not sought to enforce the trade mark against these particular listings.

Listings were removed from the site during the festive shopping period, which, if upheld, would have resulted in serious economic consequences for our clients.

However, upon the intervention of Virtuoso Legal, all listings internationally were rapidly restored - resulting in minimal disruption for our clients.

Our comment

Trainee solicitor on the matter, Ellie Wilson, stated:

"Many businesses worldwide depend on Amazon for most or all of their sales. To suddenly find that your listings have been removed can feel like the rug has been pulled from under your feet. Upon my review of this case, it became clear that the shoes were not infringing the Louboutin EUTM. I contacted Amazon directly on behalf of my client and was very pleased to see that their selling 'privileges' were reinstated within a matter of days with an apology from Amazon."

Should you be encounter similar issues, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team by calling our team on 0113 237 9900, or by filling in our contact form below.