6 ms·

AmazonBitcoins shut down by Amazon

32 points by atomon 14y ago

aaronpk 14y ago
Not sure what they were expecting using "amazon" in the name.
- SEMW 14y ago
  Not to mention "their logos and graphics"...
  - rhizome 14y ago
    Definitely filing this one under the "No Shit" category.
    - aaronpk 14y ago
      To their credit, they didn't sound very surprised or disappointed about getting shut off.
- atomon 14y ago
  See my comment below about what we were expecting
Frozenlock 14y ago
Is this caused by the link with bitcoins, or is it simply because they used "amazon" in the name?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- atomon 14y ago
  It's mostly because we used their logos. It didn't help that they had just released Amazon Coins themselves...
- slinkyavenger 14y ago
  Quite obvious that it has to do with trademark infringement.
garyrichardson 14y ago
What did AmazonBitCoins do? I'm assuming allowed you to buy things from Amazon using BC?
- atomon 14y ago
  We allowed you to buy Amazon gift cards with Bitcoins
- cgusto 14y ago
  Had their website been called buywithbitcoin.com or something similar, they would probably still be around. They used Amazon's name/logo. What did they think was going to happen?
tedchs 14y ago
> Amazon.com has requested that we shut down the site and discontinue use of their logos and graphics. Soooo yeah, companies have things called "trademarks" and "copyrights"... you can't just go putting another company's name inside your company's name, and then make your imagery the same as theirs, without their lawyers sending you a strongly worded C&D. However I don't see why this would have to shut down based on that -- why not restart under a new, distinct name and branding?
tylerlh 14y ago
I'm genuinely curious as to how the site owners expected to not find themselves in a precarious legal position using this name/imagery. Care to enlighten us?
- atomon 14y ago
  We were hoping that they wouldn't mind since we made it very clear that we were not affiliated with them. Yes, it's true, they probably would not have cared as much if we weren't using their name and referring to their logo. But ultimately we were a service that sold Amazon gift cards, so it was always going to be up to them if they wanted to let us continue to exist or not. We decided to give it a shot and see what happened.
  - jack-r-abbit 14y ago
    Seems like it would be fairly easy to rebrand yourself as just a place to buy gift cards with bitcoins... and then only offer Amazon gift cards for now (or forever if you don't/can't make it work with other gift cards).
    - hkmurakami 14y ago
      bitcard.ly would be apt.
  - illuminate 14y ago
    "we made it very clear that we were not affiliated with them" I'd say that there were probably better ways to make this clear.
  - Tuna-Fish 14y ago
    > We were hoping that they wouldn't mind I really don't think you understand how trademarks work. If you willingly let your trademark be diluted, you will lose control over it. Amazon had absolutely no choice about shutting you down. That they shut you down was a completely foregone conclusion from the start. It's not about whether they mind what you are doing or not, it's about whether they lose exclusive access to their trademark. Had they not shut you down, and let you run for long enough, anyone could have used your existence as a point in their favor at court when arguing about using the Amazon name.
joshbaptiste 14y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720
ruxkor 14y ago
Apart from the request of removing their logos, Amazon also requested that "[you] shut down the site". Is this because of the specific business model you had, or only because of the domain name? If it is only because of the domain: Do you have any plans on continuing this service?
KaoruAoiShiho 14y ago
Why are you shutting down instead of rebranding?
ceejayoz 14y ago
You were told this would happen. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720
mrbill 14y ago
Damn, this was one of the only reasons I have a machine in the corner churning bitcoins. I liked being able to directly swap them for Amazon credit.

32 points by atomon 14y ago

aaronpk 14y ago

Not sure what they were expecting using "amazon" in the name.

SEMW 14y ago
Not to mention "their logos and graphics"...
- rhizome 14y ago
  Definitely filing this one under the "No Shit" category.
  - aaronpk 14y ago
    To their credit, they didn't sound very surprised or disappointed about getting shut off.
atomon 14y ago
See my comment below about what we were expecting

Frozenlock 14y ago

Is this caused by the link with bitcoins, or is it simply because they used "amazon" in the name?

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
atomon 14y ago
It's mostly because we used their logos. It didn't help that they had just released Amazon Coins themselves...
slinkyavenger 14y ago
Quite obvious that it has to do with trademark infringement.

garyrichardson 14y ago

What did AmazonBitCoins do? I'm assuming allowed you to buy things from Amazon using BC?

atomon 14y ago
We allowed you to buy Amazon gift cards with Bitcoins
cgusto 14y ago
Had their website been called buywithbitcoin.com or something similar, they would probably still be around. They used Amazon's name/logo. What did they think was going to happen?

tedchs 14y ago

> Amazon.com has requested that we shut down the site and discontinue use of their logos and graphics. Soooo yeah, companies have things called "trademarks" and "copyrights"... you can't just go putting another company's name inside your company's name, and then make your imagery the same as theirs, without their lawyers sending you a strongly worded C&D. However I don't see why this would have to shut down based on that -- why not restart under a new, distinct name and branding?

tylerlh 14y ago

I'm genuinely curious as to how the site owners expected to not find themselves in a precarious legal position using this name/imagery. Care to enlighten us?

atomon 14y ago
We were hoping that they wouldn't mind since we made it very clear that we were not affiliated with them. Yes, it's true, they probably would not have cared as much if we weren't using their name and referring to their logo. But ultimately we were a service that sold Amazon gift cards, so it was always going to be up to them if they wanted to let us continue to exist or not. We decided to give it a shot and see what happened.
- jack-r-abbit 14y ago
  Seems like it would be fairly easy to rebrand yourself as just a place to buy gift cards with bitcoins... and then only offer Amazon gift cards for now (or forever if you don't/can't make it work with other gift cards).
  - hkmurakami 14y ago
    bitcard.ly would be apt.
- illuminate 14y ago
  "we made it very clear that we were not affiliated with them" I'd say that there were probably better ways to make this clear.
- Tuna-Fish 14y ago
  > We were hoping that they wouldn't mind I really don't think you understand how trademarks work. If you willingly let your trademark be diluted, you will lose control over it. Amazon had absolutely no choice about shutting you down. That they shut you down was a completely foregone conclusion from the start. It's not about whether they mind what you are doing or not, it's about whether they lose exclusive access to their trademark. Had they not shut you down, and let you run for long enough, anyone could have used your existence as a point in their favor at court when arguing about using the Amazon name.

joshbaptiste 14y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720

ruxkor 14y ago

Apart from the request of removing their logos, Amazon also requested that "[you] shut down the site". Is this because of the specific business model you had, or only because of the domain name? If it is only because of the domain: Do you have any plans on continuing this service?

KaoruAoiShiho 14y ago

Why are you shutting down instead of rebranding?

ceejayoz 14y ago

You were told this would happen. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5358720

mrbill 14y ago

Damn, this was one of the only reasons I have a machine in the corner churning bitcoins. I liked being able to directly swap them for Amazon credit.