Counterfeit Goods on Amazon: What You Need to Know
Getting accused of selling counterfeit products on Amazon is serious—and it can kill your entire business overnight.
One day, you’re fulfilling orders. The next, your listings are gone, your funds are frozen, and you’re hit with a policy violation for “selling counterfeit goods.” Whether you knowingly sold something you shouldn’t have—or you’ve been falsely accused by a competitor or rights owner—the outcome is the same: Amazon suspends first, asks questions later.
We defend both types of sellers:
✅ Those who got flagged for a real mistake and need help navigating reinstatement, cleanup, and compliance.
✅ And those who are wrongfully accused and need to fight back with hard evidence, legal documentation, and an airtight appeal.
What Does “Counterfeit” Mean on Amazon?
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, counterfeiting means unlawfully copying or imitating a legitimate product with the intent to deceive. On Amazon, it often comes down to brand misuse, fake logos, or items that appear “close enough” to the original to confuse a buyer.
Amazon’s policies are clear:
If you’re caught selling counterfeit goods – real or alleged – they will shut you down and possibly ban you for life.
Amazon’s Stance on Counterfeit Sellers
Amazon’s not messing around when it comes to intellectual property.
The platform has built-in systems to detect and suspend sellers who are:
-
Listing branded items without authorization
-
Selling knockoffs that use logos or trademarks they don’t own
-
Shipping out low-quality versions of premium branded goods
And once a brand files a complaint through Amazon’s Brand Registry or Report Infringement tools, Amazon will often:
-
Immediately remove your listing
-
Suspend your selling privileges
-
Block future account creation
Even if you did nothing wrong.
Amazon’s policy is simple: act first, investigate later. They do this to avoid legal exposure—like in the case of TRE Milano, LLC v. Amazon.com, where the court sided with Amazon after they showed they removed the seller promptly upon receiving notice.
Falsely Accused? We’ve Seen It All – and We Fight Back.
We’ve handled thousands of counterfeit-related suspensions, and in many cases, the seller is innocent. Maybe you sourced your product from a legitimate supplier. Maybe a competitor is using a fake IP complaint to suspend your seller account.
Here’s what we do in those cases:
-
Audit your supply chain and help you gather ironclad proof of authenticity
-
Draft a Plan of Action (POA) that addresses Amazon’s concerns head-on
-
File a Rights Owner Retraction Request if the brand made a false claim
-
Take legal action if your business was defamed by a malicious report
This isn’t the time to wing it. Amazon gives you one shot to respond the right way. Let us handle it for you.
Yes, We Also Help Sellers Who Got Caught – and Want to Fix It
If you knowingly listed a counterfeit item, we’re not here to judge—we’re here to help you get your account back and your business in compliance.
We’ll:
-
Review your entire catalog
-
Help you rewrite your supply chain documentation
-
Craft a Plan of Action that takes responsibility and shows real preventive steps
Amazon forgives but only if you approach them the right way.
What Does the Law Say?
Amazon allows many third-party sellers to use their platform to sell their product. Unfortunately, some of the sellers on the website illegally sell counterfeit goods. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, counterfeit means, “to unlawfully forge, copy, or imitate an item, esp. money or a negotiable instrument (such as a security or promissory note) or other officially issued item of value (such as a postage stamp or a food stamp), or to possess such an item without authorization and with the intent to deceive or defraud by presenting the item as genuine. Counterfeiting includes producing or selling an item that displays a reproduction of a genuine trademark to deceive buyers into thinking they are purchasing genuine merchandise”. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 470 et seq. It is within Amazon’s policy to remove any sellers who decide to sell counterfeit products.
That is what happened in the Tre Milano case.1 Amazon was made aware that one of its users had violated not just their terms of the agreement, but had broken the law. Once Amazon was informed of the infringement, they immediately took action. Therefore, when a lawsuit was brought by the seller and the company, Amazon was dismissed from the case because they were not contributorily liable.
Amazon has created many safe guards to prevent sellers from selling counterfeit goods. Once Amazon is notified of a seller listing counterfeit items, they can suspend the user or block the user. Any time a seller is blocked, they are prohibited from opening a new account. This is to avoid any liability on behalf of their sellers should a lawsuit arise. Amazon’s argument against counterfeit goods lawsuits is typically that they established preventative measures, and that when Amazon becomes aware that a seller is offering to sell counterfeit goods, they immediately take action against the seller.
- TRE Milano, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., S205747, 2012 Cal. LEXIS 11039 (Nov. 28, 2012).
- TRE Milano, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. S205747, 2012 Cal. LEXIS 11039 (Nov. 28, 2012).
Plaintiff’s case against Amazon was dismissed because Amazon was not responsible for the infringement of a third-party, and could also not be held contributorily liable since Amazon took immediate action once it was notified of the third-party’s infringement.
Don’t Risk Your Amazon Business Over One Policy Violation
Whether you’re facing a counterfeit suspension, dealing with frozen funds, or fighting a false IP claim, you need the experienced team behind Amazon Sellers Lawyer – and you need it now.