Purchases referred through paid search advertisements using Amazon trademarks, including misspellings and variations, are disqualified from commission income. Associates are also prohibited from bidding on Amazon's proprietary trademark terms in keyword auctions on any search engine where the resulting ad constitutes a Prohibited Paid Search Placement.
This analysis describes what Amazon Associates's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision disqualifies commission income on any traffic referred through paid search ads using Amazon trademark terms, and separately prohibits Associates from bidding on those terms at all where the resulting ad would constitute a Prohibited Paid Search Placement. The definition covers misspellings and variations, extending the prohibition beyond exact trademark matches.
Under this clause, Associates who purchase paid search advertisements using Amazon trademark terms or variations will have resulting purchases disqualified from commission income, and are prohibited from participating in keyword auctions for those terms where the ad constitutes a Prohibited Paid Search Placement. This restriction applies across all search engines.
Cross-platform context
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Compare across platforms →"any Product purchased by a customer who is referred to an Amazon Site through any advertisement that you purchased, including through participation in bidding or auctions on keywords, search terms, or other identifiers that include the word 'amazon', or 'kindle', or any other Amazon Mark... or variations or misspellings of any of those words (e.g., 'ammazon', 'amaozn', and 'kindel')... You will not bid on or purchase keywords, search terms, or other identifiers, including the word 'amazon,' 'Kindle,' or any other trademark of Amazon or its affiliates or variations or misspellings of any of these words ('Proprietary Terms') or otherwise participate in keyword auctions on any Search Engine if the resulting paid search advertisement is a Prohibited Paid Search Placement.Excerpt from Amazon Associates's Program Policies
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision operates primarily under trademark law and the Associates' contractual obligations; the FTC's advertising disclosure requirements may also apply to any paid search advertisements that do include affiliate links.
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This provision disqualifies commission income on any traffic referred through paid search ads using Amazon trademark terms, and separately prohibits Associates from bidding on those terms at all where the resulting ad would constitute a Prohibited Paid Search Placement. The definition covers misspellings and variations, extending the prohibition beyond exact trademark matches.
Under this clause, Associates who purchase paid search advertisements using Amazon trademark terms or variations will have resulting purchases disqualified from commission income, and are prohibited from participating in keyword auctions for those terms where the ad constitutes a Prohibited Paid Search Placement. This restriction applies across all search engines.
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