You will agree with me that selling on Amazon is an amazing way to start up a business empire and earn money. However, there are so many obstacles along the way that may want to hinder your progress.
As an Amazon seller, you’re faced with competitors who’ll want to leverage your brand name by copying your products, among other shady dealings, which is why there is an urgent need for you to safeguard your Amazon business.
What are the risks that you’re faced with as an Amazon seller?
- Many sellers complain that Chinese suppliers are selling their products cheaper
- Many sellers are more concerned about copycats who steal their product listings
- Some other sellers are complaining of people cloning their products with less quality
These and many other complaints are what Amazon sellers like you are facing and the best way to protect yourself from problems like these ones is to register your trademark and not only leverage your brand but protect it with the Amazon brand registry.
In this article, we will take you through what Brand Registry is all about and the benefits a registered trademark will provide.
What is Amazon Brand Registry?
Amazon brand registry is a special program created by Amazon to legitimize your brand. It makes you stand out from non-registered brands.
According to Amazon, as a brand owner who’s enrolled in the Brand Registry program, you’ll have access to great marketing tools that will help you protect your trademarks, not excluding image search, proprietary text, and predictive automation.
Why is Brand registry a good thing?
Among the many issues that Amazon sellers are faced with like unauthorized sellers and cheap products, the one that affects a lot of brands the most is that of counterfeit products.
Counterfeit products on Amazon have been reported by media giants like The Atlantic and The Washington Post due to how severe the situation is.
The true situation of things
For a platform as big as Amazon, it is next to impossible to monitor the thousands of sellers. However, with the introduction of the Amazon brand registry and features such as project zero and transparency, Amazon is winning the battle against perpetrators of intellectual property abuses on its platform.
Why is this important?
If a customer receives a counterfeit product that uses your brand name, it will cast bad publicity on your brand and do what is called, dilute YOUR brand. Likewise, if a customer finds a reseller that sells your product cheaper than you, it won’t sit well with your customer base.
The above situations will make you lose customers, reduce your revenue, destroy your reputation and success rate on Amazon and lead to bad reviews.
These and many more are the reasons why you need to leverage the Amazon brand registry as it offers you the right tools and resources to get rid of these risks.
What can Amazon brand registry do and can’t do?
Amazon brand registry will do the following:
- As a brand owner, you’ll have huge control over your listings.
- You’ll have access to a dedicated team that will handle all your IP infringement claims.
- You’ll have access to a dedicated team that will assist you in fixing incorrect listing variations.
- You’ll have access to a tool that will help you monitor your brand’s activities on Amazon.
- You’ll have access to Amazon A+ Content which helps to improve how your product listings are seen by potential customers.
- It improves your brand’s visibility on Amazon via alternative advertising methods.
Here is why you NEED a registered trademark for the Amazon brand registry and how you can start the process.
You need to enroll in the brand registry program if you want your brand to enjoy protection from Amazon. Since May 2017, the Amazon brand registry requires you to have a registered trademark if you want to apply for the brand registry program and this is where Trademark Depot comes in.
At Trademark Depot (TMD), we are your one-stop trademark shop when it comes to registering trademarks.
We’ll carry out an extensive trademark availability search to ensure your trademark is available and registrable.
At TMD, we’re a group of professional Attorneys, paralegals, registered trademark agents, and assistants willing to help you protect your brand.
With over 20 years of trademarking experience, we can guide you as you take the bold and necessary step of moving your brand to the next level.
What are the requirements for the Amazon brand registry?
You must have a registered trademark that is either image-based with letters, words, or numbers or text-based.
- Your registered trademark should be active.
- Your trademark must be registered in the country where you wish to apply for a brand registry.
- Your products must be manufactured by you or you’re selling your branded products; it’s not open to random resellers.
- You need to have an Amazon seller account.
- You should be able to verify your trademark.
What are the benefits of the Amazon brand registry?
Amazon brand registry has a lot of benefits and they are as follows;
Incredible brand protection
During the Amazon brand registry sign-up process, you’ll provide information about your business which Amazon then uses to automatically trash inaccurate contents that encroach on your intellectual property.
According to Amazon, many brands who signed up for the program reported a 99% decline in suspected infringements.
Tools to get rid of counterfeit products
As a member of the Amazon brand registry, you’ll have access to Amazon’s anti-counterfeiting programs namely; Project zero and transparency.
The tools will automatically scan stores to stop the sale of fake products and utilize product serialization to also stop fake products from getting to the customers.
Furthermore, as a verified brand, you can personally remove fake product listings once you see them. As of the time of writing this article, over 350,000 brands have enrolled in the Amazon registry.
Access to your store analytics
Once you enroll in the Amazon brand registry, you’ll have access to brand analytics in your seller account which will provide valuable insights like the following;
- How potential shoppers are searching for your store
- Shoppers demographics and behavior
- Product comparison reports
- Competitors performance
- The effect of ads on your sales
Conclusion
As an Amazon seller who wants to be successful, you need to register your trademark as soon as possible and apply for the brand registry.
Contact the experienced professionals at Trademark Depot (TMD) for a free trademark search.