In the early 2000s they were called Cyber Squatters. Then came the Trademark Squatters.
Around twelve to thirteen years ago, clients would contact me and complain that someone had seized their domain (website) in China and registered it in their name.
So, you’ve chosen a product and made it stand out. You’ve chosen a good, catchy name for your product (a combination of your children’s names!). From your searches on Google, it looks like the brand name is available for use.
You received an ominous letter from a trademark owner (or worse, from their legal representative), claiming that you have violated their protected registered trademark rights, by selling their product on Amazon.
You’ve probably already heard about Amazon’s new Brand Registry program, “Brand Registry 2.0”, which is supposed to be the answer to all brand violations on Amazon. While we still don’t know how efficient the program will be, we do know that it is no longer available to any seller.
A common misconception is, that in order to enforce your rights with Amazon you must have a registered copyright.