Amazon ASIN blocked: what sellers can do about false IP complaints

The starting point: genuine goods reported as counterfeit

A seller reported another seller’s toys to Amazon as counterfeit. They were genuine products. The Nuremberg Higher Regional Court declared liability for damages and awarded EUR 1,295.43 in legal enforcement costs. The unfounded complaint interfered with the claimant’s established business operations (judgment of 8 July 2025, 3 U 136/25 UWG, paras. 18 to 24 and 31 to 38).

The argument that the seller had improperly joined an ASIN did not justify the false counterfeit allegation. The court did not thereby approve every use of an existing ASIN. It distinguished the actual allegation from a different possible dispute. Actual loss still required separate proof. Permission to appeal on points of law was refused; formal finality has not been independently confirmed here (paras. 23, 47 and 50).

ASIN, seller offer and account are three different levels

Amazon groups offers for the same product on a shared product detail page. The ASIN identifies the product, not a particular seller. A complaint may affect an individual offer, the product page or other account functions. Establish the actual measure first. A product page becoming visible again does not mean that every restriction has been lifted.

Even genuine goods must match the description. Compare the brand, model and items included. Exhaustion of trade mark rights generally requires the goods to have been placed on the EEA market by the rights holder or with their consent; § 24 of the German Trade Mark Act also contains exceptions. Authenticity alone therefore does not resolve every import issue.

Not every complaint is a DMCA case

Trade marks, copyright, designs and patents protect different things. An allegation about copied product photographs requires a different response from a counterfeit allegation. The US DMCA procedure discussed here concerns copyright. Its counter-notice is not a universal form for challenging every Amazon restriction and requires specific legal statements, including consent to US court jurisdiction. It should not be used without checking its implications.

What the supplementary court decisions show

In a case involving unfounded patent complaints, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court awarded, among other amounts, EUR 20,603.28 in lost profits. Sales made through alternative channels were taken into account. Its judgment of 16 April 2026, 2 U 87/24, is not a final ruling by Germany’s highest civil court: permission to appeal was granted, with BGH I ZR 223/26 recorded as the next instance. The platform is anonymised in the official text (paras. 216 to 227 and 258).

The limits work both ways. In the particular interim proceedings before it, the Cologne Higher Regional Court considered it abusive to enforce a trade mark deliberately inserted into pages for other manufacturers’ genuine products. Actual own-brand goods must be treated differently (26 March 2021, 6 U 11/21, paras. 46 to 66). Conversely, the Federal Court of Justice requires sellers using existing listings to carry out appropriate checks on product pages that others can change, without setting a fixed daily inspection rule (3 March 2016, I ZR 140/14, paras. 18 to 30).

Distinguishing freedom of expression from false factual allegations

Legal assessments and criticism must also be considered in light of freedom of expression under Article 5(1) of Germany’s Basic Law. That freedom has limits. Our assessment: calling a verifiable allegation that genuine goods are counterfeit an opinion cannot, by itself, remove it from legal scrutiny. Legitimate intellectual property complaints remain possible. What matters is the statement, its basis and its effect, not merely the label attached to it.

Which documents matter now

Our practical recommendation is to create a separate timeline for each complaint. A precise appeal to Amazon and action against the complainant pursue different objectives. Whether an interim injunction is appropriate also depends on the claim, urgency and jurisdiction. For damages, substantiate lost profits rather than simply presenting all missing revenue.

• Save the complete Amazon notification, complaint ID, ASIN and affected marketplace.
• Collect supplier invoices, product photographs, packaging, licences and any relevant registration documents.
• Document versions of the listing, when it changed, appeals and responses.
• Provide a clear record of the restriction period, sales, margins, stock and sales through other channels.