European regulatory considerations

You should ensure that you have all intellectual property rights (such as patents, trademarks, or copyrights) necessary for listing your products in Europe or selling them cross-border within Europe. You may need to have the permission of the brand owner to sell their products in a given European member state in order to avoid an infringement of intellectual property rights (as in the case where your license to the intellectual property is only valid for a specific country). In particular, your products must not be counterfeit or illegal parallel imports.

You should investigate the law governing intellectual property for every country where you want to list your products because your rights in intellectual property may only be valid for a particular country.

In addition, you may want to protect your own intellectual property in Europe.

Trademark owners may be able use their trademark rights to prevent re-sale in the European Economic Area (EEA) of genuine branded goods sourced from outside the EEA 2, even if the non-EEA seller has purchased the goods outside the EEA from an authorized distributor or the trademark owner.

However, the trademark owner’s rights may generally be “exhausted” (for instance, the trademark owner can no longer rely on its trademark rights) in respect of goods placed within the EEA by the trademark owner or with the trademark owner’s "consent."

The "consent" must in principle relate to each individual product imported and sold in the EEA. Trademark rights may therefore generally not be exhausted simply by the proprietor having consented to the sale of other, identical branded goods within the EEA.

Even when the goods have been placed in the EEA by the trademark owner or with the trademark owner’s consent, the trademark owner may have "legitimate reasons" for objecting to the re-sale of the branded goods.

Situations that may qualify as “legitimate reasons” include, but may not be limited to any of the following:

• The branded goods have been altered by the reseller.
• The branded goods have been repackaged by the reseller.
• The reseller’s advertising of the goods in some way denigrates the goods or the trademark.

Whether trademark owners may use their trademark rights to prevent re-sale in the EEA depends on the specific circumstances of each case, and we strongly recommend that you consult legal counsel to determine whether your products may be legitimately sold in the EEA.

The “CE” mark is a mandatory conformance mark on many products (such as low-voltage equipment, medical devices, toys, personal protective equipment, and so on). By attaching the “CE” marking, the manufacturer declares that the product is in conformity with the requirements of the applicable European directives.

There are many other marks and labels in Europe (for example, textiles, products in contact with food, recycling, and so on), which you may be required to display on your products or packaging. Often product labelling is required to be in the language of the European member state where the product is sold.

Chemicals – REACH/CLP
REACH is the European regulation on chemicals and their safe use. It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances. Under the REACH regulation, one of the things manufacturers and importers may be required to do is to gather certain information on the properties of the chemical substances in their products, and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

In addition to REACH, the Regulation for Classification, Labeling, and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP Regulation) may apply to your products. The CLP Regulation incorporates the classification criteria and labeling rules agreed at the United Nations level, the so-called Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). GHS is based on the principle that the same hazards should be described and labeled in the same way all around the world.

Electrical and electronical equipment – WEEE / RoHS
If you are selling electrical or electronic equipment, you may be subject to the European legislation concerning Restrictions of the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and/or the collection and recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

The following are examples of requirements in the WEEE regulations that you may be subject to:

• Displaying the “crossed-out wheeled bin” symbol on your products. The symbol indicates that the product should not be disposed of as normal waste, but rather in specific recycling centers.
• Joining an authorized WEEE collection and recycling scheme in any European member state in which you sell applicable products.

Batteries
If you sell batteries or products that contain batteries, you may be subject to the Battery Directive. The Battery Directive imposes specific obligations on producers and distributors of batteries.

The following are examples of requirements you may be subject to:

• Displaying the “crossed-out wheeled bin” symbol on your batteries. The symbol indicates that the battery should not be disposed of as normal waste, but rather in specific recycling centers.
• Joining an authorized battery collection and recycling scheme in any European member state in which you sell your batteries.

Packaging and packaging waste
Packaged products you sell in Europe must comply with the European Packaging and Packaging Waste regulations.

The following are examples of requirements you may be subject to:

• Joining an authorized packaging collection and recycling scheme in any European member state in which you sell your products.
• Displaying recycling symbols on your packaging (for example, the “green dot” symbol).

Plugs and voltage
Countries in Europe use different types of plugs—for instance, the U.K. 3-pin rectangular plug and the continental European 2-pin round plug. In addition, products you import into Europe might work on a different voltage.

Please ensure that you comply with the regulations on plugs and voltage in any European member state in which you list your products. In particular, your customers should be able to safely use your products. For more information regarding what plugs and sockets are accepted in EU fulfillment centers, visit the Electrical Goods Requirements: Plugs and Sockets help page (Seller Central Europe account required).

Toys
The European Toys Safety Directive requires, among others things, that it must be possible to use a toy without any danger to one’s health or safety during the toy’s foreseeable and normal period of use. You may also be required to place warnings on the products that specify the appropriate conditions and limitations of use.

Medical devices
Medical devices range from simple products like bandages to the most sophisticated life-supporting products. If your product is considered a medical device, you may be subject to the European Medical Devices Directive. The Directive requires, among other things, that medical devices shall not compromise the safety and health of patients, or users and other persons when properly implanted, maintained, and used.

Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are subject to various regulations in Europe, including special labeling and packaging requirements. The regulations are only partially harmonized. For example, a product may be sold over-the-counter in some European member states, while in others it may only be legally sold in pharmacies.

Food
Food and food products are subject to many regulations in Europe. European food regulations in particular aim at establishing high-quality standards for food and food product hygiene, animal health and welfare, and plant health, and prevent the risk of contamination from external substances.

European food regulations include, among many other things, the following:

• Specifying rules on appropriate labeling for food products. Often product labeling is required to be in the language of the European member state where the product is sold.
• Establishing mandatory refund and recycling schemes for beverage packaging in several European member states.

More: Restricted products for import into the United Kingdom

Please note that these consumer rights are described for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute any legal advice or substitute for any contractual obligation that you may have agreed upon with Amazon or directly with the consumer. To learn more about rules that apply to international sellers, check out Global Selling International Seller Rules here.

Rights of cancelation
With some exceptions, consumers in the European Union have the right to cancel a purchase of a product bought online within 14 days of receiving the final item of the order, if they purchased multiple items together that were delivered separately. Even when there is no error from your side, you must refund the item and the shipping costs. You may not have to refund all costs unless one of the following is true:

1. There is an error on your side.
2. You agreed to bear all costs for the consumer.
3. You failed to disclose or inform the customer about the costs that you are legally required to disclose.

For example, you must refund the normal cost of sending the item to the consumer but not any extra costs for services that the customer chooses, such as expedited delivery or gift-wrapping. Similarly, when you expressly inform the consumer, you don't have to bear the cost of returning the product to you.

Please note that these consumer rights are in addition to any contractual return rights that you may have agreed upon with Amazon (e.g. 30-day return guarantee) or directly with the consumer.

The period during which you can receive a warranty-related claim from a customer also varies by country. For example, parties to a contract in England and Wales have up to six years to bring a claim from the date on which their rights were infringed; a customer thus may claim that a product is faulty six years after receiving it.

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