Intellectual Property Complaints and Purchasing Amazon Accounts - CJ Rosenbaum

Intellectual Property Complaints and Purchasing Amazon Accounts

01/17/2026 | Cedrick Laurente |

We have twenty years of litigation experience and have specialized in Amazon sellers and brands since 2016. We have ex-Amazon employees on our team who have expertise in these issues and know how to get accounts reinstated.

With all those years of experience in the field, there is one type of representation that we always decline, and that is assisting anyone in purchasing an Amazon-based business. The potential issues with intellectual property complaints alone make these deals far too risky. The following is something that no one tells you about purchasing an Amazon account.

IP Complaints Are Time Bombs

IP complaints on Amazon operate on an entirely different timeline than you do. That is the main issue. The previous business owner, for instance, broke a trademark without even realizing it eighteen months ago. They may have even used a copyrighted image two years ago. They may have even listed products with specific brand names that they legally shouldn’t have.

IP complaints are a waiting game; the brand owners aren’t always guaranteed to notice it. They might have someone who checks in every day, or it might be a yearly, one-at-a-time check. They might take a complaint, sit on it for a few months, and leave you to figure it all out once you’ve completed the purchase and assumed the business is all good to go.

“There is IP infringement built into these agreements that deals that few understand. The listings may contain unauthorized trademarks, or copyright protected images– and that’s an issue that doesn’t arise until a brand owner gets brand registered and sends a complaint. By that time, it’s your account that’s in jeopardy.”  

— Julian Guarniere, Client Relations Team, AmazonSellersLawyer.com

IP Issues You May Adopt

There will be lots to learn and understand, including the past mistakes, when you purchase an Amazon store. Many Amazon business owners do not tend to play by the rules.

Trademark Issues

Sellers often use brand names and trademarks in their listings to attempt to sell a product that is non-branded. For example, in a generic sneaker listing, they may include the brand, “Nike.” These can be small or large sneaker listing tweaks that are in fact trademark infringement. These violations can become a complaint that takes years to surface.

IP violations can result in negative account impacts. Account ‘health’ is monitored and will provide negative impacts in response to these violations. Account suspensions are also a possibility.

Images of products are sold EVERYWHERE online. Previous owners captured images from manufacturers’ websites, competitors’ listings, Google Images. Legit, but images are owned by someone and can file a complaint if they copyright.

These are the same with product descriptions. Sellers copy this stuff all the time. Descriptions, websites, listings, industry publications. All of these can trigger complaints.

Counterfeit Claims

Here is where supplier problems meet Intellectual Property complaints. Previous owners bought products that matched the official looking documents, invoices and boxes. But were they real? If the products were counterfeit, complaints can roll in at any time.

“The previous seller could have been dealing with shady suppliers—stolen goods, counterfeit merchandise—and you can’t tell just by the invoices. Everything looks legit.”  

— Julian Guarniere, Sales Team

You purchase the business. You continue selling the same products from the same suppliers. Six months later, the brand owner makes a test purchase, figures out the products are counterfeit, and files a complaint. Your account. Your issue. Your suspension.

Thanks to Due-Diligence No Buyer Left Behind

I know how buyers think. I can’t be an idiot. I’ll look through the listings before I close. I’ll check the IP. Good luck.

How do you know if the buyer has the license for the image? The seller might not even know where they bought it. How do you check if the descriptions are created by the buyer? Are you going to check every single description through a plagiarism tool? How do you know if the invoices are legit? How do you know if the buyer is actually a supplier?

You can’t. Violations don’t show until the seller is done selling the account to you.

“The seller is going to IP complain once the account is sold to the buyer. The seller IP complains are going to be the actions after the sale. These types of actions can’t be foreseen. These are the actions you can’t control. We don’t want to get involved with the complaints after sale because they are uncontrollable to buyers.”  

— CJ Rosenbaum

What Happens When You Get IP Complaints

An account gets an IP complaint. You get to go through a suspension appeal of conduct you didn’t do with doc’s you don’t have against a complainant you never dealt with.

You can’t explain to amazon’s automated system that the infringement happened before you owned the business. They don’t care. The account violated IP rights. You own the account. You’re responsible.

Appeals Without Information

When you appeal an Amazon decision, you have to explain what went wrong, what you did to fix the error, and what you will do to prevent it from happening again in the future. But how do you explain what went wrong if you do not even know what the issues were in the first place? Since you did not create the business, you do not know what the previous owner would or would not do. Maybe the previous owner even left behind important documents, such as invoices from his or her suppliers or licenses to use some of the images in the storefront.

Getting Complaints Retracted

Sometimes, the most reasonable or logical path is to get the owner of the legal rights to withdraw the complaint. But good luck trying to get the owner of the brand to withdraw his or her complaint against the business. Often times, the business is not even well known, and the owner of the brand does not care. They do not know why the complaint was made in the first place. It is not uncommon for the owner of the business to have the complaint against his or her business for several days in order to avoid the loss of potential revenue while the business is still suspended.

All of the business’s listings were noncompliant, and the seller assured you that there would be no IP issues. Additionally, you have some type of legal protection, right?

You do, and when an IP complaint shuts your account down, you can take the seller to court. This most likely will not happen before the seller’s account is shut down, but you are also left without your Amazon account that was generating no revenue, so even if you do not have an active Amazon account, you still have the option to take the seller to court, and that is all the contractual protections are good for.

Why We Don’t Represent Buyers

My firm does seller-side representation with brands and IP disputes on Amazon, and we will *not* represent anyone purchasing an Amazon business.

“IP-based Amazon account purchases pose a major threat to a buyer. The account might get shut down due to related accounts, and there is no way to predict/control any of these issues.”  

— CJ Rosenbaum, AmazonSellersLawyer.com

The Amazon marketplace is extremely dynamic and comes with an unpredictable IP risk. There is no way to evaluate if there are dormant IP issues. There is no way to contractually get around it, and due diligence will not uncover it. If we represent a buyer and IP issues result in an inactive account, we’ll be the law firm that is associated with an awful deal.

Acquiring Amazon Businesses: IP Concerns FAQs

Is it possible to conduct a complete IP risk assessment before making a purchase?

In theory, yes. In practice, there are countless issues that result in liability that may not occur to you until after the purchase. It is extremely difficult to ensure every image is licensed. It is even more difficult to ensure that every product description is written in a way that is compliant with the law, and every reference to a brand is legally authorized. Some violations are simply not evident, and you will not know if you have them until a rights owner decides to voice their complaint.

What about if a seller assures no issues with IP?

An IP guarantee gives you something to stand on legally but it doesn’t take away the chances of your account being suspended. When it happens, you can’t do anything but sue. But lawsuits take years, are extremely costly, and there’s always a chance you’ll lose.

How long can it take for there to be a complaint of an IP violation?

It can take a long time even up to years. However, brand owners find discrepancies in other brands routinely. They can happen to look at other brands, or check in for auditing reasons, or even check to see if their brand has been copied for legal reasons. They can find old stock. Amazon doesn’t protect you from being IP violated even if it’s been years.

Will you assist me if I purchased a business and I am now facing IP issues?

Absolutely. If you bought an Amazon business and there are IP issues, we take care of that. Just don’t expect to represent the buyers during the purchase. From a legal standpoint, there’s too much risk and it’s too unpredictable.

Is there any Amazon business that is completely safe to buy?

‘Complete safe’ is not an accurate description of a buyers expectations. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with an Amazon business and every single one of the carries the risk of an IP claim. There is no way to get rid of that risk. Just know what you’re getting into before you go ahead and sign everything.

Bottom Line

Brand IP complaints kill Amazon seller account acqui-hirings. The IP violations occurred before you bought the account. The complaints come after you own the account. Account due diligence can’t find the issues. Contracts can’t protect you from them. This is one reason we don’t represent buyers in these deals. This is also one reason you need to consider your options carefully. If you have questions, we offer free consultations.

About the Author

CJ Rosenbaum, Esq.

CJ Rosenbaum is the founder of Rosenbaum & Segall, P.C. law firm, which also operates AmazonSellersLawyer.com and BrandProtectionAmazon.com. He has been practicing law since 1995 and has been dealing exclusively with Amazon seller legal problems since 2016.

Team: The firm comprises of ex-Amazon employees who understand how Amazon’s enforcement system works, and Patent Bar attorneys who have 30 years of experience practicing IP law. They defend sellers who get suspended, and protect roughly 400 brands at the same time.

Track Record: 2024-2025 we have achieved 175+ account reinstatements and recovered over $10 million in funds which Amazon had frozen via arbitration, including multiple six figure amounts in emergency recoveries.

Books: He has published six books dealing with Amazon seller legal issues, covering account suspensions, IP law, and arbitration tactics.

Speaking & Press: Frequent speaker at Global Sources Summit, Retail Global, and Prosper Show. The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, and FOX Business quoted me regarding Amazon seller and IP concerns.