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newuser-d4dac72f-62e3-4a1b-90e9-b8d1e780bf17 avatar image

When is Amazon going to take action against copycats and stop being complacent ?

I have filled out constant infringement forms

I have sent countless emails to copyright@amazon.com

I have sent emails to the merch department which I was then redirected back to the infringement form

This is now 3 weeks later and still NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. It started with 1 copycat and now their are multiple ones with new ones appearing every day. They have undercut pricing and even stolen my complete listing including my company name. They now have BSR rankings between 80k and 300k.

I AM LOSING MONEY!

WHEN IS AMAZON GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS? Under the copyright act DMCA complaints are supposed to be handled in a reasonable amount of time. For a billion dollar company to not handle these requests 3 weeks later still seems like complete complacency.

Does Amazon not care to protect their Merch Creators? Without the creators their is no Merch by Amazon! As artists if our original creations cannot be actively protected then what is the point in posting original work for sale if it is gong to just get ripped off, copied and resold until we no longer get any compensation due to the number of copycats?

I know I am not the only one, multiple people have reported copycats and have been waiting weeks for something to be done!.Multiple Pixel for Pixel copycats have been reported over and over again that have hundreds if not thousands of P4P listings and they are STILL ACTIVE!

I send a DMCA takedown to Teespring, Redbubble, Etsy, Teepublic or any other of the many POD companies out there and within 48 hours their is a response! 3 weeks later and still NO RESPONSE!

copyright
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newfulluser avatar image
newfulluser answered

Seems like they don't care, I've seen similar threads like yours since I joined the forum.

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T-Shirt Design Fan avatar image
T-Shirt Design Fan answered

And the fact the moderators who post here NEVER comment on these posts is most concerning. Even if they reply and say something like "We acknowledge your post." or "This is why it takes so long to hear back."

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Daniela avatar image
Daniela answered

I am in the same situation and I do not know what else to do. It is quite disappointing... everyday that pass is a loss in sales and royalties and there are more copycats adding to the list. I am just receiving the automatic answer, that's all.

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Ramen Noodles avatar image
Ramen Noodles answered

I don't know whether Amazon doesn't understand copyright law or they just don't care. (maybe both) I found one competing design that wasn't a pixel-by-pixel copy, but it was clearly a copyright violation. Whoever listed it simply copied my design with a slightly different font and a slightly different image. That was it. The layout, design and everything was exactly the same. Amazon replied to my email that they considered it to be different enough to leave it up and that they considered the case closed. What the???

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newuser-aef85799-5b73-4147-94a2-a7815ffd0789 avatar image
newuser-aef85799-5b73-4147-94a2-a7815ffd0789 answered

I can't submit design anymore on merch, they don't protect us for now. It takes me hours and hours every weeks to report all copycats with my existing listing.

Unless they decide to care about us, i can't submit new original designs.

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Merch_Duelist avatar image
Merch_Duelist answered

Guys, you should've already understood this copycat thingy even before starting selling here on merch. Stop whining. Yes, I'm also losing money, but that's how it is. If they stole your shirt totally then it should be removed. But people can get inspired from your design OR USED THE SAME TEXT, then you should be quiet. It's not like you have a trademark for it.

You are the little fish here, it's not like Amazon really cares about your designs and I bet they have a tons of stuff to do.

Create your own online store and sell there if you don't like something.

2 comments
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Ramen Noodles avatar image Ramen Noodles commented ·

You have added absolutely nothing of value to this thread.

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Merch_Duelist avatar image Merch_Duelist Ramen Noodles commented ·

This thread is no value :) Just realize the downsides of our business. Similar thing happened with Kindle Publishing. Copycat fiesta everywhere. But those who understand the game will make good bucks.

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Charlie avatar image
Charlie answered

Credit where it is due, just got an email saying Amazon was removing a p4p design. Thank you! Very much appreciate the support!

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Amy avatar image
Amy answered

I DO think that they care but might be understaffed or were completely unprepared for this MASSIVE uprise of P4P. And the sheer number of account holders who have based their entire business model on theft. And only theft. It seems to depend what day you submit infringement forms-- sometimes, designs are removed in a few days and other times, yes, I agree it is weeks.

Then, there are groups like this that sell Merch accounts in Vietnam in bulk -- 100 accounts at a time https://www.facebook.com/groups/MerchAzon/ @Leia@Amazon @Oswald@Amazon so, Merch might be trying to keep up with this, but then those banned wind up with 5, 10, 100 more accounts and it never ends.I have a friend with a disabled husband, two kids and could REALLY benefit from Merch and who has been waiting since MARCH 2016 to get in and nada and then I see this abuse.

I personally have a love hate relationship with the sales rank and while I love the revenue when a design really takes off, I shudder because I know I will be spending a ton of time reporting pixel thefts.Sometimes, they will be removed right away and others times, it takes weeks.

Its like I would rather a design fly under the radar because it DOES burn me up when thieved swoop in and steal, hop onto my brand on top of it and lowball a design that might have taken an hour or more to design.

However, I IMPLORE Merch to do at least a couple of things:

  • Hide BSR -- the tools out there allow theft to occur almost as soon as you get some sales. TRuly-- as in SAME DAY sometimes and its like wtf.
  • Use the Human model mock up for images -- I promise it will result in more sales for merch and designers. I've sold clothing for over a decade and customers really DO want to see what an item looks like on a person. The current set up is much too easy for these thieves to steal designs
  • Block other people from brand infringement and hopping onto a BSR shirt with their P4P copy
  • Mandate that any person who receives a take down for P4P will automatically have their revenue issued to the rights owner Boom. Hit the thieves in their POCKET -- upload date will make this simple.

These things alone will reduce the amount of work for the copyright team, the designers and will help deter theft. I'm sure it won't be foolproof. But with a merch staff who is not chasing down these toddlers who can't throw some text and a picture on a shirt themselves and seem to actually enjoy stealing, I think any additional features and products could roll out much faster with the additional staff available to do so.

The designers will have time to DESIGN and pad Merch's pockets and our own with more incentive to push out badass designs because we will have more time instead of searching for theft

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Agree on all points.

It also shouldn't take multiple reports on one copycat by multiple people to have something done about it. If they are a P4P copycat that has had a complaint lodged against them and they cannot provide proof that they bought the design or somehow copyrighted it before the person issuing the DMCA then they should be instantly banned, no second chance. They already proved malicious intent and not following Amazon's rules nor respecting US Copyright Law why do they need to be given chance after chance to prove over again that they will do more of the same. Several have been mentioned over and over again for weeks now with literally hundreds and thousands of designs. Meanwhile I know legitimate Merch Sellers still stuck on tier 25 who have sold well over 100 shirts and have not been tiered up. Yet the P4P copycats have 500, 1000, and 2000 level accounts.

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Ricardo Almeida avatar image
Ricardo Almeida answered

I don't think Amazon cares enough, after all, the t-shirts are printed and Amazon gets its percentage of the sale.

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