How to Check Trademark/ Copyright For Amazon Merch Design?
How to Check Design Trademark? When upload design on amazon, there are words and images that should be avoided:
1, Vulgar words like : shit, fuck, ass
2, Sexually suggestive words such as: blow jobs, porn….
3, Words that describe product quality or shipping such as: high quality, shipping, made in USA,….
4, Words and Stickers ™ ( Trademark – copyright)
5, Words with copyright . (Copyright is also a form of copyright protection, but not as strong as ™
Changing words, editing images, logos, translating into other languages… will help you escape?
Are not! The Trade Law stipulates that similar products cannot be branded similarly because it will easily cause misunderstandings. Similarity is implicitly understood as similar sounds, images, similar logos, words with equivalent meanings, other languages with similar meanings… or any way that can make users think of product A as product A. B
So, unfortunately, even if you change the T-shirt to a TeeShirt, due to the similar sound, you’re still stuck with TM. Even if you change SuperMan to SuperDad, SuperBro, SuperXYZ, you’re still gone. Even if you change Hi doggie to Hello Doggie, you’re still gone.
Below is the image description for your easy understanding.
There are 2 ways to check trademark. Let’s find out.
1. How to check trademark ™ with USPTO
I will guide you to use the most reputable site, USPTO.
Go to the page https://www.uspto.gov/trademark. Scroll down to the Search Trademark Database section, select Search TESS
Select Search term as the phrase you want to search, select the corresponding field for it as Full Mark. Next, select the second search term as shirts, the corresponding field is Goods Services. Then select Operator – the operator is AND to search for TM registrations that satisfy those two conditions and then click Submit query.
For example, with the word Superman, I will produce the following result:
When searching for Deadpool, I only show 1 result so it will show the detailed results page of that search:
Or let’s say Funcle, which also has a live registration version, is probably difficult to handle.
We can also try searching for the word Retired.
This shirt is registered but is Dead, so you can absolutely use designs about I’m not Retired….
2. How to check trademark ™ with TMHunt.com
Go to TMHunt.com
Notice there are 2 items exact Match and Partial Match
The Exact Match item is used to search for exactly 1 whole cluster, for example, here search for the phrase HOT Sauce
The Partial Match item is used to search for a word in a phrase, because many times when searching for the whole phrase, it is not found ™ but searching for 1-2 words in the phrase is ™
For example, the phrase HOT Sauce Taco search Exact does not stick, but if you search for the word Sauce in the cluster by Partial Match, it will stick.
How to distinguish ™ is expired or not
When checking ™, look at the 4 columns on the right to see:
Status here includes dead with live, dead is expired, live is still valid or applying for registration ™
Type : this section has 2 types, Design and Text, making Merch shirts usually only pay attention if ™ for design can be ignored, don’t be afraid and should only pay attention to the text section.
Filled on : Application submission date ™
REgistered on: Date ™ was approved successfully, if not, it will have the form Not Registered:
How to Check Copyright
Copyright is usually quotes in movies or music, or a famous quote. For example, on Merch, you will see a phrase like: Be A MAverick, search ™ is not available, but if you bring this phrase to google search, you will see the following:
So this is the name of a song by a singer on Youtube, don’t make this shirt.
A quick way to check Copyright is usually to check a whole cluster on a shirt, go through google search and it will come out.
Maybe you don’t know
Unlike Patents, Copyrights are only valid for a certain period of time, Trademark can be valid forever if people use it regularly.
TM is also divided by region. Trade from another country can still be used in the US, and trade from the US can still be used in other countries. However, we are selling on Merch, so we just need to know this for fun
In addition to having your account terminated for violating TM, you may have violated other Amazon policies (eg Copycat), so there are still cases where you check TM carefully but still die account.
Those who are fluent in English can refer to some of the following documents about TM
https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BasicFacts.pdf
http://cyber.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm
Where Can I Buy Merch By Amazon Account?
If you’re looking for a place where you can buy Merch by Amazon account with warranty or you already have had account and searching for good niche to start with , you can contact Sonny – founder of website Merch By Amazon For Sale. Sonny is an expert in the field and can provide valuable insights on niche selection and conduct research on your behalf.
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