Listings VERO-ed by Mattel

[div_style]

Anyone besides me had listings VERO-ed by Mattel that have nothing to do with Mattel?  I had two listings pulled, for different products, which had no brand names or other Mattel-related words in them, nor were they even remotely similar to any of Mattel's products.  I have 100s of similar listings (on another ID) that have not been affected.  Mattel has not responded to any of 3 emails sent to them.

No, I'll not say what the products were, nor my other ID on which they were listed, and I'm not asking for advice, just grumbling that eBay even allows VERO by a company that has no relation to what I am selling, and for listings that have no Mattel-related words in the descriptions or titles.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Are you sure they didn't contain any copyright or trademark violations? Sometimes sellers are surprised to get listings pulled for using trademarks like Velcro or Onesie.

[simba6]

Most likely a key word search flagged the items.  Without knowing what they were, can't really know. However, most just flag on key words. 

[7606dennis]

Alas!  Without being able to see what the listing said or even what the item is, it is impossible to determine what it was that triggered the VERO complaint from the copyright owner.  However, as you probably already know, it would be unwise to relist without having first settled the VERO issue with the rights owner.

[luckythewinner]

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@div_style wrote:

I'm not asking for advice, just grumbling that eBay even allows VERO by a company that has no relation to what I am selling, and for listings that have no Mattel-related words in the descriptions or titles.

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Scooter, Ken, Uno, Drowsy, Blaze, Babs, Matty, Chatterbox, MIdge, Eddy, Chester, Larry, Allan, Dinky, Ricky, Skipper, Biff, Flea Circus, Francie, Casey, Hotshot, Lambie Pie, Janet, Rosebud, Python, Tiff, Roscoe, and Kerplunk are all Mattel trademarks.  

And these are just a few from PAGE 1 of the 474 PAGES of trademarks they have registered. Are you sure you checked your listings for all 18,960 of them? 🙂

[picknparley]

Wow, I'm just amazed that so many common words are trademarked by Mattel.  'Ken' - really?

It makes one wonder if there are any words out there that are still free to use. 

My goodness. 

Gee, I had a dog named Casey once....... was he illegal? 😄

[luckythewinner]

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@picknparley wrote:

Wow, I'm just amazed that so many common words are trademarked by Mattel.  'Ken' - really?

It makes one wonder if there are any words out there that are still free to use. 

It is not an issue to use a trademarked name as long as you are not confusing the consumer. If you are selling barbecue grills in Australia, I suspect Mattel will have no issue with the use of the word "Barbie". 

But since the OP is not willing to disclose the item or the text of his listing but claims he used "no Mattel words", I was simply pointing out that seems like it would be a hard claim to verify  🙂

[div_style]

All those trademarked words come into play only if you are using them to describe a product as being like, or similar to, the Mattel product to which those words are attached.  In any case, words I used such as plastic, box, hinged, lid, sturdy, adjustable, compartments, storage, and size designations have nothing to do with Mattel.  And the two listings are for products unrelated to any Mattel product.  Seems they just plucked two random listings to VeRO.

[bar-29368]

You have to also consider the low paid workers in wherever that these companies are employing to trawl listings looking for VERO violations. Most of them haven't a clue what they're actually looking at.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@picknparley wrote:

Wow, I'm just amazed that so many common words are trademarked by Mattel.  'Ken' - really?

It makes one wonder if there are any words out there that are still free to use. 

My goodness. 

Gee, I had a dog named Casey once....... was he illegal? 😄

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Trademarks are specific to the type of item.  That's why there can be a trademarked Dove soap bar and also a trademarked Dove ice cream bar.

Naming your dog Casey or Ken would be OK even if somebody had a trademark on it.

[janet9988]

Ebay is legally required to give Vero members that power.

[lowcostsales2014]

Maybe this is an overzealous Vero? JANET is trademarked? I would guess for a doll only as listing a DVD with Janet Leigh cant be veroed by mattel. Wonder if this was a blind sweep. If so I would contact Mattel & tell them that they are opening themselves up to a lawsuit. I know years ago there was a post with how to handle companies like this in regards to trademarks & Resale of items.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@picknparley wrote:

Wow, I'm just amazed that so many common words are trademarked by Mattel.  'Ken' - really?

It makes one wonder if there are any words out there that are still free to use. 

My goodness. 

Gee, I had a dog named Casey once....... was he illegal? 😄

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You would be surprised at the words and phrases Yankee Candle has trademarked -  Christmas Eve, strawberries & cream, tarts, wax tarts, home again, stripes....I could go on and on.  That said, I'm pretty sure those words are limited to fragrance items only and not the entire world in general.

[vrie39]

I have had listings Vero'd.

Here is my experience:

When an item is removed due to a VERO violation there will be a message in your account with some instructions on whom you would need to contact to find out exactly why your listing was violated.  That is the person you would most likely want to contact because I have done that and they told me what it was that triggered the event.

As stated it is usually the use of a (TM) keyword that will trigger the event.

Just for example, here is a short list of some trademarked Mattel words and phrases:

TRADEMARK LEGENDS

Apples to Apples®, Apptivity™, BabyGear™, Barbie®, Barbie in a Mermaid Tale® 2, Barbie® Life in the Dreamhouse™, Barbie®The Princess and the Pop Star®, Battle Force 5®, Big Boots®, Blokus®, Brawling Buddy®, Cliff Hangers®, Cruise & Groove Ballapalooza™, Discover ‘n Grow™, Fashion On-The-Go Bow-tique, Fijit Friends®, Fisher-Price®, Flexforce Lightning®, Ghouls Rule™, Girl Tech®, Hot Wheels®, Imaginext®, Kid-Tough®, Laugh & Learn®, Little Mommy®, Little People®, Matchbox®, Max Steel®, Monster High®, Nitro Speeders®, Phase 10®, Polly Pocket®, Power Wheels®, Radica®, Rumblers® Blastin’ Breakdown™, See ‘N Say®, Servin’ Surprises Kitchen ‘n Table, Sing-a ma-jigs®, Skip-Bo®, Stride-to-Ride®,Take ‘n Play™, Team Hot Wheels®, Terrain Twister®, Total Control™, Trio®, TwirlinWhirlin’™, Tyco R/C®, UNO®, View-Master® and Wheelies™ trademarks and trade dress are owned by Mattel. ©2011 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

https://corporate.mattel.com/our-toys/trademark.aspx

So you will need to contact the person in the message containing the Vero violation to find out what it was that triggered it, then you will need to make appropriate changes to said listing before relisting. Do NOT relist the same listing as it was removed, even if you "prove" to Mattel that your product in no way infringes and they agree with you and then you call ebay and they "approve" that you can relist that will NOT WORK!!!

If you do that your listing will get violated again, too many of these and your account will be restricted.

Only AFTER you remove the offending (TM) word(s) or phrase(s) should you consider relisting the item(s).

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@picknparley wrote:

Wow, I'm just amazed that so many common words are trademarked by Mattel.  'Ken' - really?

It makes one wonder if there are any words out there that are still free to use. 

My goodness. 

Gee, I had a dog named Casey once....... was he illegal? 😄

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Oh believe me I totally know how you feel.