Quick answer. A counterfeit complaint is an intellectual property notice filed by a rights owner or its agent who says your product or listing infringes their trademark. An inauthentic finding comes from Amazon’s own review under its Anti-Counterfeiting Policy, which requires every product sold on Amazon to be authentic, and no rights owner has to be involved. Both can remove listings, hold funds and lead to deactivation. A rights owner notice can be resolved with an invoice, an order ID, a license or a retraction, while an Amazon authenticity review is resolved only with supply chain documents that satisfy Amazon.

Sellers use the two words as if they mean the same thing. On the Account Health page they come from different policies, start with different people and close through different appeal paths. We see appeals fail most often because the seller answered the wrong one. A seller who writes to a brand owner about an Amazon authenticity review waits for a retraction that cannot come. A seller who sends a plan of action with no invoice to a rights owner notice skips the one document Amazon says it will re-evaluate.

Two Complaint Types on the Same Account Health Page

Both complaint types appear on your Account Health page in Seller Central. Amazon’s Anti-Counterfeiting Policy states that you can view counterfeit complaints there, and IP violations are addressed from the same dashboard. The shared location is the reason sellers confuse them. The source of the complaint is what decides the fix.

Amazon’s Intellectual Property Policy governs complaints that a rights owner files. The policy covers copyrights, trademarks and patents, and it says you may not violate the IP rights of brands or other rights owners. A counterfeit complaint is the trademark version of that notice. The rights owner is telling Amazon that the item you sold is a fake of their product, or that your listing uses their mark without permission.

Amazon’s Anti-Counterfeiting Policy governs findings that Amazon makes on its own. The policy opens with two plain sentences. Products offered for sale on Amazon must be authentic, and the sale of non-authentic products is strictly prohibited. Amazon states that it removes suspect listings based on its own review of products, and that it works with manufacturers, rights holders, content owners, vendors and sellers to improve detection.

How a Counterfeit Complaint Starts

Who files it

A rights owner or an agent acting for the rights owner files the notice. Most brand owners file through Amazon Brand Registry, which Amazon describes as its authoritative service for managing and protecting brands. Brand Registry holds brand names, brand profile data such as trademarks and logos, and the accounts that hold roles for each brand, such as Rights Owner and Brand Representative.

Brand Registry gives brands three tools that matter to a reseller. Report a Violation combines reporting for IP infringement, store policy violations and regulatory compliance concerns in one place. Project Zero lets enrolled brands block and remove listings immediately. Transparency places unique serial codes on units so Amazon and shoppers can confirm a unit is genuine. A complaint generated through any of these tools still traces back to the brand, which is why the rights owner relationship sits at the center of the response.

Amazon also restricts who may file. Its seller code of conduct states that Amazon does not permit individuals with active selling accounts to file infringement notices as an agent of a brand when those notices could benefit their own selling account, for example by removing competing listings. Sellers who do this may have their selling account terminated. If you believe a competitor filed against you, the correct path is still an appeal through Account Health with your evidence. The code of conduct also prohibits attempts to damage another seller, their listings or ratings.

What the notice claims

A trademark or counterfeit notice makes one of two claims. The first is that the product or its packaging infringes, meaning the physical item is not genuine or carries the mark without authorization. The second is that the product detail page infringes, meaning the title, images, description or brand field uses the mark improperly. Amazon’s IP policy treats these two claims differently, and your response depends on which one the notice describes.

How it reaches you

The notice arrives as a performance notification and appears on Account Health as an IP violation. Amazon takes action even when the seller did not know about the infringement. Its IP policy states that even if a seller is infringing IP without knowledge, Amazon will still take action, and the account might receive a warning or be suspended.

How an Inauthentic Finding Starts

Who starts it

Amazon starts it. Its detection and review work can flag a product without any filing from a brand. The Anti-Counterfeiting Policy also says Amazon does not pay sellers until it is confident customers have received the authentic products they ordered. That sentence explains why authenticity reviews often arrive with a hold on disbursements.

What the policy prohibits

The policy lists three groups of prohibited products. They are bootlegs, fakes or pirated copies of products or content, products that have been illegally replicated, reproduced or manufactured, and products that infringe another party’s intellectual property rights. The policy also makes sourcing a seller obligation. It is each seller’s and supplier’s responsibility to source, sell and fulfill only authentic products.

What Amazon can ask for

By selling on Amazon you agree to provide records about the authenticity of your products if Amazon requests them. Amazon may request documentation such as invoices showing authenticity or your authorization to list the products for sale. You may remove pricing information from those documents. Amazon states that providing documents edited in any other way, or documents that are misleading, is a violation of the policy and will lead to enforcement against your account.

What Amazon can do

The consequences in the Anti-Counterfeiting Policy are broader than a listing removal. If you sell inauthentic products, Amazon may immediately suspend or terminate your selling account and any related accounts, dispose of inauthentic products in its fulfillment centers at your expense, and withhold payments. Amazon also states that it works with rights holders and law enforcement to take and support legal action against sellers and suppliers that knowingly violate the policy. Its Counterfeit Crimes Unit files civil suits with brands as co-plaintiffs and makes joint referrals to law enforcement.

Inauthentic vs Counterfeit Side by Side

How to Tell Which Complaint You Have

Open the violation on Account Health and read three things before you write anything. Read the policy the notification names. Read whether it refers to a notice submitted by a rights owner. Read the list of ASINs at the bottom of the notification, because Amazon’s appeal guidance says that list defines the products your evidence must cover.

If the notification names the Intellectual Property Policy and refers to a rights owner, you have a counterfeit or trademark complaint. If it names product authenticity or the Anti-Counterfeiting Policy and refers to Amazon’s own review, you have an inauthentic finding. Some accounts carry both at once on the same ASIN. In that case we answer each violation on its own terms, because a retraction closes the rights owner notice and does nothing for the authenticity review.

How to Respond to a Counterfeit Complaint

Amazon’s IP policy sets out a response for each type of notice. Match your situation to the right row and use only the action Amazon lists for it.

The product is genuine and the claim is about the product or packaging

Use the Account Health dashboard to provide an invoice or an Amazon order ID that demonstrates the authenticity of the product. Amazon states that it will then re-evaluate the notice and your content may be reinstated. The invoice should come from the supplier who sold you the units and should show the product clearly enough for Amazon to tie it to the reported ASIN.

The claim is about the detail page

Modify the detail page so it does not infringe the trademark, then submit your appeal from the Account Health page. If you believe the listing was removed in error, Amazon asks for supporting documentation such as a letter of authorization or a licensing agreement. Detail page claims often involve a brand name in a title for a compatible accessory or a copied product image, and those are fixed by changing the content, not by sending invoices.

You have a license or agreement with the rights owner

Contact the rights owner who submitted the complaint and ask for a retraction. Amazon states that your content may be reinstated if it receives a retraction from the rights owner. The retraction has to come from the rights owner through Amazon’s channel. A forwarded email from the brand does not replace it.

You never listed the product

Reply to the notification and state that you have never listed the reported product. Amazon says it will investigate whether an error occurred.

You received multiple warnings

If you have multiple IP warnings and believe your products do not infringe, Amazon asks for an appeal with a list of the allegedly infringing ASINs and at least one of four items. Those items are invoices proving authenticity with pricing removed if you wish, Amazon order IDs demonstrating authenticity, an authorization letter from the rights owner that is not a forwarded email, or a court order finding that your product does not infringe or that the asserted IP is invalid or unenforceable.

Patent and copyright notices follow their own rules. Patent notices are answered with specific reasons or a court order. Copyright notices can be answered with a counter-notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, sent to the email in your copyright warning, with the elements Amazon lists. Neither is a counterfeit complaint, and treating them as one wastes the appeal.

How to Respond to an Inauthentic Finding

An authenticity review has one path. You prove to Amazon that your units came from a legitimate supplier in quantities that cover what you sold. We work it in this order.

1. Open the violation. Go to Account Health, select the violation and choose the option to submit an appeal. Amazon’s policy pages point sellers to this path to provide the requested documentation.
2. Build the ASIN list. Copy every ASIN from the bottom of the notification. Amazon asks for supporting evidence for all products under review.
3. Pull sales and inventory numbers. For each ASIN, total the units sold and the units in stock over the past 365 days. Amazon’s invoice requirements ask for quantity sufficient to cover sales volumes and in-stock inventory for each cited ASIN over that period.
4. Match invoices to ASINs. Collect supplier invoices dated within the 365 days before the notification. Confirm each one names the product clearly by name, model number or UPC, EAN or ISBN, including the variation details that match your listing.
5. Find the root cause. Amazon’s appeal guidance asks you to look for root causes such as unverifiable suppliers, inventory management issues or quality control issues, and to describe the specific actions you took with dates.
6. Write a short factual appeal. Amazon asks for clear, concise, factual writing without emotive language and without references to other support cases.
7. Highlight the evidence. Amazon suggests circling or highlighting the ASINs, the supplier name and relevant terms inside your documents so the reviewer finds them quickly.
8. Submit through Seller Central only. Follow the instructions in the banner on Account Health. Invoices sent by email or through third-party sharing are not accepted.

If the review led to a full suspension, the appeal needs the same evidence plus a plan of action that explains how the problem happened and what you changed. See also What Is an Inauthentic Suspension on Amazon and How Do You Fix It?.

Invoice and Document Standards Amazon Applies

Amazon publishes invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation. It describes an invoice as a document issued directly by a supplier that records the final transaction of goods and shows an itemized list of goods received and the terms of sale. Amazon says it requires invoices to verify that sellers source from legitimate suppliers.

What the invoice must show

• Supplier information. The supplier’s name, phone number, address and website. Amazon states it will not share this information with its retail team or other sellers.
• Issue date. A clearly displayed date within the past 365 days before you received the performance notification.
• Quantity. Enough units to cover your sales and in-stock inventory for each cited ASIN over the past 365 days.
• Product identifiers. Product names, model numbers or universal identifiers such as UPC, EAN or ISBN, with version, color or style for variations and every component for bundles.
• File format. PDF or image files in .jpg, .png or .gif format, no larger than 10MB each.

What Amazon will not accept

• Sales quotes, pro forma invoices or any document issued before a completed transaction.
• Self-issued invoices, or invoices where the supplier appears to be the same business entity as the buyer.
• Invoices that have been digitally manipulated or sent in an editable format such as Excel or Word.
• Invoices that are illegible, low resolution, inconsistent or missing required details.
• Invoices sent by email or third-party sharing instead of through Seller Central.

Amazon states it may contact the supplier to verify the document and will keep the supplier’s information confidential. Invoices do not have to be in English. If Amazon rejects an appeal that included invoices, the performance notification identifies why. Read that reason before you resubmit, because a second appeal with the same defect gets the same answer.

Authorization letters

An authorization letter from the rights owner helps with both complaint types when it is real and current. Amazon’s IP policy says the letter cannot be a forwarded email. Amazon’s general guidance on rights verification says appeals typically require invoices or letters of authorization, and that if products are confirmed genuine, Amazon will remove the enforcement claims from the account.

Why Appeals for These Complaints Fail

• Answering an Amazon authenticity review by trying to contact a rights owner, or answering a rights owner complaint without the evidence Amazon lists.
• Invoices from a source Amazon cannot verify, or invoices that do not match the ASINs and quantities in question.
• Edited documents beyond removing prices.
• Covering only some of the ASINs listed in the notice.
• Retail receipts or marketplace order confirmations offered as supplier invoices. They do not show a supplier relationship with contact details and a completed wholesale transaction.
• Invoices dated outside the 365-day window, or invoices whose quantity falls short of units sold plus units in stock.
• A long appeal that argues with the complaint, praises the business or blames the brand. Amazon asks for facts, root causes and dated actions.
• Filing several appeals in quick succession with the same documents, which adds noise to the case without adding evidence.

If a rights owner is behind the complaints, our rights owner complaint service handles the response and retraction process. If the account has been suspended, our Amazon suspension and reinstatement team builds the appeal and supply chain evidence. Listings removed for authenticity can also go through our listing recovery service.

Related guides include What Causes Inauthentic Complaints on Amazon and How to Prevent Them and Amazon Product Quality and Condition Complaints.

First-Time and Repeat Cases

How the Account Health Rating counts them

The Account Health Rating runs from 0 to 1,000 and reflects policy adherence over the last 180 days. A score from 200 to 1,000 is Healthy, 100 to 199 is At Risk, and 99 or lower means the account is eligible for deactivation or already deactivated. You lose points when a new violation is detected and gain points when you successfully address it.

Amazon assigns points by severity, using four levels named critical, high, medium and low. Critical violations can lead to immediate enforcement. Repeat violations of the same policy cost more points each time, so the rating degrades faster. Amazon also states that an account may be at immediate risk of deactivation once it reaches the maximum number of repeat violations for a single policy in 180 days, and that the maximum can be as low as two for higher severity violations.

A first complaint

A single complaint on an account with clean history is usually a listing-level problem. The decision is whether to appeal or to stop selling the ASIN. If you hold genuine invoices, appeal and get the violation addressed, because an addressed violation recovers points. If you cannot document the source, removing the offer stops further sales but does not erase the record, and the next complaint on the same policy counts as a repeat.

Repeat complaints

Repeat counterfeit complaints carry a specific risk. Amazon’s IP policy states that it terminates the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. Repeat authenticity findings expose related accounts under the Anti-Counterfeiting Policy. For a repeat case we review every ASIN from the same supplier, not only the ASINs named in the notice, because one unverifiable source tends to produce more than one complaint.

Regardless of the score, Amazon states it may deactivate an account immediately if it suspects fraudulent, deceptive, illegal or otherwise harmful activity. A green rating does not protect an account that sold fakes.

US, EU and UK Differences

The Anti-Counterfeiting Policy and the IP Policy apply across Amazon stores, and each store has its own Seller Central help pages and Account Health view. Your evidence standard does not change between regions. The procedural protections around a suspension do.

In the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services applies to marketplaces such as Amazon. Article 4 requires the provider to give a statement of reasons on a durable medium before or at the time a restriction or suspension takes effect, and at least 30 days before terminating the whole service. The statement must refer to the specific facts or circumstances, including the contents of third-party notifications. That last point matters for counterfeit complaints, because the third-party notification is the rights owner’s notice. Article 4 also requires the provider to give the business user the opportunity to clarify the facts in the internal complaint process. The regulation lists exceptions, including where the business user repeatedly infringed the terms.

The United Kingdom kept a version of the same regulation after leaving the EU, published on legislation.gov.uk with the same Article 4 structure. Sellers on Amazon.co.uk can rely on the statement of reasons and notice periods in that version. United States sellers do not have an equivalent federal rule for marketplace suspensions. Their protection is the appeal process Amazon publishes and the terms of their selling agreement with Amazon.

Prevention

Source only from suppliers you can prove

Amazon’s invoice guidance lists methods for evaluating new suppliers. Review official business documents such as licenses. Verify a physical presence such as an office or warehouse. Check business credibility through bureau ratings, company background, media coverage and industry reputation. Verify web presence through government resources, brand websites and business directories. We add one rule for resellers. Buy from the brand or from a distributor the brand names as authorized, and keep the authorization in writing.

Keep the file before you need it

Store every supplier invoice in its original, unedited form as a PDF, with your sales and inventory counts per ASIN. Amazon’s window is 365 days back from the notification, so a rolling archive of at least that period means you can answer any review the day it arrives. Reconcile invoice quantities against sales each quarter. A shortfall you find yourself is a sourcing problem you can fix. A shortfall Amazon finds is a violation.

Protect your own brand

If you own the brand, enroll in Brand Registry so Amazon connects the brand to you and you can report others. Transparency serial codes give Amazon a way to confirm genuine units, and Amazon reports that more than 2.7 billion product units have been verified as genuine through the program. Brand owners who use these tools reduce the chance that someone else’s fake units create authenticity complaints on their ASINs.

Watch the listing, not only the product

Detail page trademark claims come from content. Keep brand names out of titles for compatible products unless you have permission, use your own images, and fill the brand field accurately. Amazon considers a brand to be a name that represents a product or set of products, shared through a common name, logo or mark on the product or packaging.

Do not edit documents

Removing prices is the only edit Amazon allows. Changing quantities, dates, names or product descriptions on an invoice is a separate violation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Policy and turns a recoverable listing problem into an account problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an inauthentic complaint the same as a counterfeit complaint?

No. A counterfeit complaint is an intellectual property notice from a rights owner. An inauthentic finding is Amazon’s own enforcement of its Anti-Counterfeiting Policy. They are resolved through different evidence and different paths.

Can a rights owner retract a counterfeit complaint?

Yes. Amazon says that if it receives a retraction from the rights owner, your content may be reinstated. Retraction applies only to rights owner notices and has no effect on an Amazon authenticity review.

What invoices does Amazon accept for authenticity?

Supplier-issued invoices for completed transactions, dated within 365 days before the notification, showing supplier contact details, product identifiers and quantities that cover your sales and stock for each cited ASIN. You may remove pricing, but no other edits are allowed.

Can Amazon hold my funds over inauthentic products?

Yes. The Anti-Counterfeiting Policy says Amazon may withhold payments if it determines an account has been used to sell inauthentic goods, and that it does not pay sellers until it is confident customers received authentic products.

Will one counterfeit complaint suspend my account?

It lowers your Account Health Rating, and the impact depends on severity. Repeat violations of the same policy reduce the rating faster, and for higher severity violations as few as two in 180 days can put an account at immediate risk of deactivation.

Get the Right Response for Your Complaint

Before you submit anything, confirm which kind of complaint you have. Submit your case for a free assessment, or book a consultation with our team.

Get Help With Your Amazon Case

Our rights owner complaint team can take the case from here. You can also see all our marketplace suspension services.

Sources

• Amazon Seller Central, Amazon Anti-Counterfeiting policy
• Amazon Seller Central, Intellectual Property Policy
• Amazon Seller Central, Invoice requirements for appealing a policy violation
• Amazon Seller Central, Complete an appeal questionnaire to reinstate selling privileges
• Amazon Seller Central, Account Health Rating program policy
• Amazon Seller Central, Selling policies and seller code of conduct
• Amazon Seller Central, Intellectual property for Rights Owners and Registered Agents
• Amazon, Amazon Brand Registry
• Amazon, Counterfeit Crimes Unit frequently asked questions
• EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services
• legislation.gov.uk, Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 Article 4, UK version