What is Amazon Brand Registry?
If you are selling on Amazon you know how much competition there is and how often trademark infringement can happen. Amazon Brand Registry is a free program by Amazon that helps brands manage the struggle of maintaining their IP.
Amazon Brand Registry gives you access to tools that enable you to more accurately represent your brand, find and report violations, and share information that can help Amazon proactively prevent infringement.
Who can enroll?
Manufacturers or private label brand owners. Distributors with licensed trademarks and resellers and people with WRITTEN permission from a brand owner or manufacturer.
Why would I want to register?
As a brand, once you register you will have increased control over product detail pages (title, bullets, images, etc.). You will also have the ability to list products with different product identifiers and get access to tips and tricks from automated machine learning algorithms.
Best of all, you will have access to A+ content that lets you give a detailer introduction to consumers about your brand and line of products. And you will also be able to build your own Amazon store to show off all your products. Sponsored brands will give you enlarged access to different kinds of advertising options. You will also be able to do Amazon Lives and introduce your products on a live video complete with q&a from the audience. You will also have access to Amazon approved reviews that you can pay for to get the coveted reviews on your products. In addition you will be able to access Virtual Bundle capability, Amazon attribution, Transparency participation and Project Zero. In other words, registering your brand not only affords IP protection for your brand but gives you all kinds of extra ways to market and tell your brand story!
How do I enroll?
To enroll in the Amazon Brand Registry, a brand owner should first obtain an active registered trademark from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, an application takes up to 12-18 months to be processed before your brand is registered – especially now, with all the backlog that occurred during Covid. However, you can use the Amazon IP Accelerator program to hurry along the process toward getting Brand Regsitry. The Amazon IP Accelerator service connects business owners to Intellectual Property (IP) attorneys for a fee. When engaging an Amazon partnered IP specialist, you’ll have your products approved for the Brand Registry before your trademark application is accepted. You’ll need the active registered or pending trademark. An image with your brand’s logo clearly visible. A Government Registered Principal Trademark Registration or Serial Number. Images of your product and packaging, the product category and A country-specific trademark registration number depending on the location of the marketplace you are going to sell on.
How will Brand Registry work for me regarding counterfeiters?
Brand owners and manufacturers can expedite the process of removing a counterfeit or inauthentic product from a listing because they can easily prove to Amazon that they own the brand. Counterfeit listings represent an extremely widespread problem for popular brands or sellers with higher sales velocity. Removing fraudulent sellers from a listing isn’t a hassle for a brand if the seller uses FBA. By being on the Brand Registry, a seller can prove if someone has counterfeited a product quicker because the previous work of registering a brand on Amazon is done. Best of all, Amazon will dispose of any counterfeit inventory if the seller is using FBA. Please note that counterfeit is different from unauthorized. If someone has purchased your product but was not authorized to sell on Amazon and does, you can not claim it is counterfeit. Amazon puts the responsibility of controlling your distribution firmly in your hands.
In addition, its important to register your brand on Amazon even if you never intend to sell on the platform. This way you will not have to fight to get control BACK from someone else claiming to own the IP. It does not cost anything to enroll once you have your trademark and therefore, you should find time to get the information registered.
