Amazon has released an IP Accelerator designed to help retailers and brands expedite trademark registrations and various layers of brand protection.By ITOctober 4, 2019
Stay on top of the latest e-commerce and marketplace trends.
The Background
Enrolling in Amazon’s Brand Registry grants you an increased level of control for your brand on Amazon. Once you have joined the Registry, it is less likely that someone will change your product listing without your consent — a black hat tactic, amongst many, that has been infiltrating the marketplace more frequently than ever.
Additionally, sellers are being impacted by false infringement cases: counterfeit, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and more. In most instances, unethical sellers pose as a brand owner and target a specific product in your catalog. They acquire some of your intellectual property (IP), go through the steps to register it with Amazon’s Brand Registry and sometimes even the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and then accuse you of infringement, claiming you are breaching their rights by selling that product.
To mitigate the risk of being caught in these infringement battles, be sure to keep an organized record of all paperwork related to product safety and compliance, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and supplier information for quick reference.
You can also perform test searches for your brand on Amazon’s Brand Registry or consult an attorney on your own accord to ensure that your Amazon business has the proper procedures in place to prevent infringement. In addition to these measures, you can also join Amazon’s recently launched IP Accelerator, which we outline in detail below.
About the Author
What Is the Amazon IP Accelerator?
Amazon’s IP Accelerator is a program designed to enable brands to more quickly obtain IP rights and brand protection in Amazon’s stores. Designed specifically with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in mind, the accelerator gives brands access to a detailed network of trusted IP law firms to leverage for trademark registration services.
If you use these law firms to file your trademark applications, Amazon will provide your brand with “accelerated access to brand protection” in Amazon’s stores. As a result of this, you will be able to protect your brand months, or even years, before your trademark registration is officially issued, helping to strengthen your brand’s reputation, value, and credibility in the market.
All of the law firms included in the directory are Amazon-approved and offer competitive, pre-negotiated rates that fit SMB budgets. They have been vetted for experience, expertise, and customer service and help simplify and expedite the trademark filing process. The law firm will perform extensive research to see if anyone is already using the desired trademark and will also file trademark applications to protect it once it is created.
In addition to trademark filing, the trusted firms can also provide additional services that fall within the IP scope — design patents, copyright registrations, and broader IP protection plans and strategies. With the deep expertise of the law firms, you will be able to accelerate (hence the name) the speed in which your trademark is registered.
The program is free to use and the only budget required is the payment to the law firm for the IP work they provide. With faster access to brand protections, you will be able to grow your brand and own your brand presence while proactively preventing potential infringement scenarios.
Final Thoughts
Whether or not the introduction of this program has anything to do with the Aug. 3, 2019 rule that non-domestic IP applicants use a U.S.-based attorney for USPTO applications, the program gives you access to seasoned IP attorneys who are extremely familiar with the Amazon space.
Having the tools in place to maintain a strong brand reputation on Amazon is immensely important to long-term business growth, as brand security has the ability to impact customer service, engagement levels, and performance metrics.
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