Are You Guilty Along With Amazon?

4 replies
Amazon has been involved in a lawsuit since 2011 as a defendant against the claim by a watch manufacturer that the retailer is misguiding users into thinking that after searching for their name brand (not sold on Amazon) the retailer shows watches from different watch makers, thus, misleading buyers.

Amazon won the first case, but the plaintiff has gained approval for an appeal.

If the case should happen to flip in favor of the manufacturer, where do many marketers and bloggers stand with the common practice of using a brand name (even in keywords / tags) and not featuring the brand but an alternative? This is generally regarded as inappropriate use of a brand.

Ebay identifies this in their "Creating Legally Compliant Listings"

Simply, do you think it wrong to use a brand name to attract traffic but then divert that traffic on to something else?

Article on Amazon Case
#amazon #guilty
  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    This impacts PPC policies as well.

    People routinely buy PPC terms for brands they don't control.

    Some affiliate programs are wise to this and expressly forbid affiliates from doing this... but some other programs are slow on the draw.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    The case isn't going to flip since there is nothing illegal about it. Thus, I don't worry about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
      Lawsuits have nothing to do with legal or illegal.

      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      The case isn't going to flip since there is nothing illegal about it. Thus, I don't worry about it.
      ...and apparently the suit was not found to be frivolous, or the appeal would not have been granted.

      Note - If memory serves, OJ Simpson was found not guilty of murder in criminal court... but he lost the subsequent law suit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Synnuh
    GetResponse advertises all over other email providers brand names.

    It's crafty, but not illegal. I don't think the case is going to get anywhere.
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