Port communicationHow do cross-border e-commerce sellers protect intellectual property rights? To some extent，Intellectual property law seems to be a tricky topic for e-commerce sellers。But actually，It's not as complicated as imagined。Sellers only need to register and protect their intellectual property rights from four aspects。 The seller’s intellectual property rights include trademark rights、Content copyright、Product patents and product designs。Once the seller registers and applies for these rights protections，All we have to do is crack down on infringements。
本文将盘点亚马逊卖家须知的知识产权相关知识，and what sellers can use to protect product intellectual property rights、Ways to combat illegal infringements。 one、商标权 所有人看到下图中的任何标志，You will know what it represents。For example，When I see Coca-Cola，It reminds me of their delicious cola。This is what trademarks are about，It is a unique combination of text and pictures，Represents the brand and its products。
Sellers need to understand at least basic trademark law，to protect their trademark，Also avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of other sellers。例如商家不能复制或使用其他公司的商标印在自己的产品上，就像不能随意将Nike的打钩标志印在自己的T恤上，Because this clearly infringes on Nike's intellectual property rights。 注册商标注册商标也分为可靠的方式和风险较大的方式。
风险较大的方式之一是使用自由设计师网站。These websites often use other brand trademarks as samples，It may even be possible to offer the same trademark to multiple Amazon sellers。But after the seller uses this trademark for a period of time，You will encounter trademark issues one after another.。 It may be a more reliable method to ask a professional designer to design the trademark from the beginning.。The cost of designing a trademark may be higher，But it can guarantee the originality of the trademark。
But even so，Merchants should not spend a lot of money before confirming the originality of the trademark.。if you are not sure，You should check on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website，Or seek help from a professional lawyer，To ensure that the trademark can be used normally。 Purchase from brand dealer channels in the United States，Sellers enjoy the rights protection of the First Sale Doctrine。
This law stipulates，只要产品与被授权卖家销售的产品没有“本质上的不同”，You don’t need any brand license to sell。例如卖家从经销商处采购了星巴克马克杯，But as long as no changes are made to the product，It is impossible to constitute infringement。 卖家在大量订购存货前要确保库存的真实性，并且不侵犯第三方卖方的商标或知识产权。
This puts Alibaba’s procurement channels at certain risks.，Especially for sellers selling on Amazon。 When a seller receives an infringement complaint from Amazon，Be sure to provide invoices for inventory purchases in a timely manner。in fact，When a seller is banned due to infringement complaints for selling goods from Alibaba，Documentation needs to be obtained directly from the factory，This will make your case more convincing。
two、Content Copyright U.S. Copyright Law Sellers need to pay attention to two major aspects of U.S. copyright law：Pictures and text。Essentially，This means that sellers cannot freely use other people’s images or copy text。 Picture if the seller is creating their own listing on Amazon or other platforms，You cannot use unpurchased or unauthorized image resources。 When many sellers create listings，Original product image incorrectly used。
Because even for public use，擅自使用其他品牌的图片资源也构成了侵权。即使将其他品牌图片资源加以修改并使用，It still constitutes copyright infringement。所以不要在未经同意的情况下擅自使用第三方图片。 版权法的判罚之所以越发有争议是在于：卖家是否创建了自己的listing还是仅仅只是链接到了现有的listing上。
This issue is debated endlessly in the United States，Different courts often have different rules。 In some areas of the United States，如果卖家在销售的listing上使用了其他人的图片，Regardless of whether you created this listing，will be considered as infringement of their copyright。However，in other states，As long as the seller does not upload illegal images，will not be considered an infringement。
Listing copywriting for sellers，创建listing时随意的复制黏贴是非常不可选的方式。从其他卖家的listing中随意获取文本信息并用于自己的文案是典型的侵权行为，But at the same time, this is also the most difficult point in copyright protection.。
Therefore, sellers can refer to other people’s listings，But you must make some changes based on your own products，Make it your own unique listing，例如改写词句或者是用一些相似的表述，achieve the intent of conveying the same message。follow these steps，卖家就可以创建一个不侵犯任何第三方版权的listing。 产品文案版权法也同样适用于产品包装的文案。
The following product is an example，The following parts of the trademark are not protected by copyright law。 The product's scientific name "garcinia cambogia" is not protected，Because copyright does not cover the names of substances in nature。 Fruit picture resources are not protected by copyright either，Same reason as above。
Descriptions of capsules as “vegetarian capsules” would also not be protected，Because generic terms are not protected by copyright。 在这个产品上受到版权保护的是“字母“I”上的小叶子，Because it's a unique part of their trademark。 three、Product Patents U.S. Seller Patent Law：基本原则产品专利几乎由政府官方机构颁发，This prevents unauthorized sales from other sellers。
Patent Right，It is the exclusive right to implement a specific invention-creation that the inventor or its assignee enjoys according to law within a certain period of time.，Eliminate illegal interference by others。Therefore, after the seller obtains his patent，No one else can sell this product。 There are two types of design patent patents：Design patents and utility patents。
The different characteristics of these two patent-protected products：Design patent protects product appearance，Utility patents protect product design principles and uses.。 For unique product appearance design，Design patent is the best protection shield。However，It also protects competitors from further improvements to your product design。If other merchants change the design，and will not be confused with the original product，That cannot constitute design patent infringement to a large extent.。
Regulations related to product appearance in the United States. Product appearance has always been an easily confused concept.，It refers to the overall scope of the product - the look and feel。This includes the shape of the product、color、even its packaging。It contains the characteristics that distinguish the product from other similar products.。 Product appearance protection has a little-known benefit，i.e. never expires。This means，卖家一旦拥有某个商品外观设计的权利，almost always protected。
美妆蛋（Beauty Blender）就是一个很好的例子。Even though it's just a makeup sponge，But it is different from other similar products。Rose red egg shape，Transparent plastic packaging，The unique texture makes it very unique。undoubtedly，The entire product already has its own unique appearance。
Four、如何保护自己的自有品牌Listing 在亚马逊上销售自有品牌产品时，Seller’s listings can easily be copied。many times，Other sellers will try to copy existing listings，for your own product descriptions，to boost sales。It is difficult for sellers to avoid this kind of infringement on the platform，但可以采取一些步骤通过平台系统移除这些产品。
Identifying plagiarism sellers The first step in resisting this type of behavior is to identify plagiarism sellers。to this end，Sellers need a system。If the seller has a limited number of ASIN (Amazon product number) codes，You can manually check each listing。This work must be done every day，If you find any infringement, you will promptly warn the seller by email and remove his products.。 But if the seller has hundreds of listings，Then manual browsing is inefficient。
on the contrary，Sellers need a professional automated system to monitor ASINs and their own brands。Some software can automatically detect products on sale with the same listing content，And automatically send warning emails and termination letters to merchants suspected of plagiarism，Including merchants who also have brand authorization。 Friendly removal of plagiarism sellers as mentioned in the previous article，After identifying plagiarism sellers，The original seller will send a termination email。
But in terms of experience，It is best for merchants to handle such incidents in a friendly manner，and reached a friendly agreement，Avoid the risk of damaging your brand image。 Remove sellers who refuse to stop plagiarism if after sending a cease and desist letter，The plagiarist refuses to delete the plagiarized content，Sellers must file a complaint with Amazon。卖家可以通过简单的形式报告侵权行为，诸如品牌名称和被抄袭产品的ASIN等信息，and explain the charges。
Amazon takes these complaints very seriously，通常会暂停特定的ASIN或甚至整个卖方账户。所以卖家在投诉抄袭侵权之前要认真思考，不要在没有事实基础的情况下提出申诉。 six、相关规定的中美差异 所有卖方还需要知道中美间知识产权法的基本差异。 in the united states，知识产权法是基于谁是“先使用”和“先发明”的产品。
属于这些类别的产品和公司能受到相关保护。 Chinese laws are very different from those in the United States，并不存在谁“先使用”和“先发明”这个规则。Without registering，Merchants do not have the corresponding rights to use and are not protected。 at the same time，China’s registration categories are also more complex。Different from the 45 international registration categories common to most countries，China has hundreds of species。
If the seller is not registered in the category related to the product，Then others can still register and use your trademark for sales。 all in all，卖家可以采取多种形式保护自己的知识产权。However, it is a good choice to seek help from official channels.，例如向美国专利局和地方政府办公室申请保护。Once these titles are approved in the U.S.，卖家也可以考虑向世界知识产权组织（WIPO）提交申请。
If you are seeking trademark or copyright protection，请务必记住你可以找代理-——你会需要律师。And in this process，Sellers must be fully prepared，In addition to applying for property rights protection at the place of sale，You should also apply for protection at the place where the product is purchased.。 at last，Sellers should remain vigilant，Always beware of plagiarism and infringement by third parties，Also prepare relevant countermeasures。
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