What is Amazon Brand Registry? How to successfully complete the brand registration process?

The Amazon Brand Registry program is aimed at brand owners who want to protect their branded products from counterfeiting. The global e-commerce market is vast, making it impossible to regularly monitor what is happening even on one of the many marketplaces. The world's largest shopping portal has therefore created an opportunity for trademark owners who have registered their trademarks with their local intellectual property office to join the Brand Registry. This gives them protection against abuses by other sellers, and customers can be assured that they are buying an original product. According to this sales giant, registration helps prevent counterfeiting by up to 99%! Check what formalities you need to fulfill to protect your brand on Amazon.

Benefits of the Amazon Brand Registry Program

Registering a brand on Amazon has many advantages. Above all, it provides protection against sellers impersonating the manufacturer's trademark. This is important from the perspective of both the owner and the customer. The buyer purchases a product marked with a specific name, logo, and brand. The seller should protect them from the situation where the ordered goods turn out to be counterfeits. Therefore, joining the Brand Registry is of immense importance. In this way, the company shows its customers that it cares about the maximum protection of buyers' interests. The basic benefits associated with registration in the program include:

Automatic protection against fraud - Amazon monitors products added under the registered brand and removes counterfeits from circulation

Ability to dispute abuses - the trademark owner can report dishonest competitors and request the removal of false listings

The right to edit brand listings - only the company that registered for the program can change descriptions and images.

Now that you are convinced that it is worth registering for the Brand Registry, check what you need to do to join this program.

What documents are required for the Amazon Brand Registry?

The basic document needed for registration is the EUIPO certificate (European Union Intellectual Property Office) confirming that the brand has been registered with the local patent office for a specific category (e.g., clothing, toys). In Poland, this is the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland. This process takes about 6 months. During this time, it is verified whether products marked with a given trademark have already been registered with any patent office in the EU. You can also use trademarks registered in local institutions in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. The EUIPO certificate signifies the registration of the trademark in all EU member states. Thanks to this, you can immediately start selling on all European marketplaces on Amazon. It is essential that the appropriate trademark is registered in a form accepted by this e-commerce giant. Find out how it should look to avoid additional formalities.

What trademarks can be registered in the Amazon Brand Registry?

The basic requirement in this case is the consistency of the text visible on the packaging with the trademark submitted for registration. You must maintain the same letter case and spelling. Amazon must receive an identical copy of the graphic that was sent in the application to the patent office. It is best to decide on text, as the portal does not accept purely graphical marks. What does this mean? We will look at 2 versions of the Go2Market logo to discover the difference.

Fig. 1 Graphical logo

Fig. 2 Text logo

In the first case, the outlines of the letter "G" are visible, but this mark is clearly in a graphical form. The second example illustrates a text logo, as it clearly indicates the brand name through the use of letters and numbers. Such precise verification is necessary to ensure that the process of checking compliance of the offers marked in a specific way proceeds correctly.

3 steps to successful registration in the Amazon Brand Registry

Once you have prepared all the necessary documents and files, you can begin the registration process. To do this, you must have an active Seller or Vendor account. In the first case, it doesn't matter whether you use the FBM or FBA model. Next, go to the page https://brandservices.amazon.pl/ and log in. You will be guided through the subsequent stages of the application.

Fig. 3

First step of registration in the Amazon Brand Registry

You will receive detailed information about the required attachments and necessary data. Proceed to the next page and fill in all the fields.

Fig. 4

Second step of registration in the Amazon Brand Registry

You will be asked to provide the brand name (remember the correct spelling!). From the dropdown list, select the patent office where you registered it. Then enter the registration certificate number. If the process is still ongoing, you can choose the "pending" option and provide the application number. Also, specify the type of trademark: text or design.

Fig. 5

Third step - selecting application status and type of trademark

The next window is for product information. You can paste the link to the brand's online store and to the marketplaces where the branded goods are sold. The next important step is to attach at least 1 photo showing the product or its packaging with the brand name or logo clearly visible. After submitting the necessary documents, Amazon will analyze your application and inform you about the registration of the trademark or the rejection of the application.

What opportunities does Amazon Brand Registry offer?

Within the discussed program, there are several options for protecting brands registered on the portal. The services of the Amazon Brand Registry include:

Automated brand protection

This is automated protection guaranteed by the portal, which scans all listings added on all marketplaces and detects potential abuses. In this case, both the name and description, as well as hidden search terms, are checked.

Amazon IP Accelerator

This program is aimed at supporting brand owners who are about to register their brand with the patent office. If necessary, they receive contact details for local institutions and companies dealing with the preparation and implementation of this process. If you are looking for support in this regard, it is worth taking advantage of this e-commerce giant's advice. You can then be sure that you will successfully manage matters related to registration.

Report of Violation

This allows the trademark owner to report fraud and counterfeiting related to their own brand. It is enough to indicate the seller, a specific offer, and the market on which it is being made available, as well as to upload original product images to prompt the portal to react to the abuse.

Amazon Project Zero

This program is aimed at trademark owners whose applications have been deemed valid. If Amazon determines that at least 90% of the offers you indicated indeed contain false brand information, you will gain the ability to remove dishonest sellers from the market yourself. You can then remove them from your listing.

Transparency

This option includes the portal printing special, unique labels that you attach to all products introduced into circulation on Amazon under a given brand. This allows anyone to quickly verify the origin of the goods. Both the trademark owner, warehouse staff, and customers have the option to scan them using a sales application, which will immediately detect a counterfeit.

Why is it worth registering for Brand Registry on Amazon?

In addition to the previously mentioned benefits, an advantage of joining the program is also an increased chance of gaining the Buy Box. As a brand owner, you can object whenever you suspect fraud. You benefit from automated protection and manual tools that facilitate monitoring the use of the trademark. Amazon also provides support from a special support team that deals exclusively with matters related to Brand Registry. Additionally, you gain many new opportunities to promote your offerings:

Enhanced Brand Content - known as Content A+, a space for additional product descriptions, images, and brand presentations

Amazon Brand Store - the opportunity to create a store with all offers marked with a given trademark

Sponsored Brand Ads - after launching a campaign, 3 similar products from the given brand are displayed in the search results for specified keywords

Brand Analytics - access to detailed information about customer behavior, e.g., regarding searches or shopping carts.

Remember that all actions taken to protect the brand work in your favor, as they increase the visibility of products and build a positive image.

Good luck with your registration, and if you have any questions or comments about this text, please leave them below as a comment.

Happy Brand Registry,

Amata Borys-Chudek

Go2Market Crew