Amazon Brand Registry – Protect Your Brand
One of the most painstaking and troublesome problems that sellers often encounter has to do with protecting their brand.
With over 400 million products listed on Amazon, there are bound to be unethical competitors who will attempt to copy what you’re doing, and not just your strategy or sales tactics — we mean your brand and products.
For many sellers powered by Fulfillment by Amazon, this is a non-issue until it becomes a nightmare scenario. This article should provide you with enough information to enable you to spot upcoming trouble and fully protect your brand.
First Things First: The Benefits of Amazon Brand Registry
Protect Your Brand Like Your Life Depends On It
Amazon Brand Registry is key to protecting your brand and all products registered under it. Considering that you must have a trademark to meet the requirements, you are most likely serious about protecting what’s yours.
The 2020 Jungle Scout Study of more than 1,000 Amazon sellers expressed two main concerns related to this:
- Knock-off or copied products on private label products
- Suppliers and manufacturers selling copy products
You’ve most likely heard stories where a brand’s competitor started to aggressively copy the messaging, packaging, and even the products themselves. This can happen when a seller doesn’t have a strong relationship with the manufacturer or when their competitor finds another way to copy and produce the same products. You won’t have to deal with these pesky “competitors”.
By enrolling in the Brand Registry, there is a very slim chance that your competitors are able to copy what you’re offering. Even if they do, they will get caught and taken care of; Amazon will support you as long as you play by their rules.
Once enrolled, you’ll get access to Amazon’s search tools to help you discover infringing products and content. You will be able to conduct an image search, content search, and bulk ASIN search to detect any infractions. From there, you’ll be able to submit a report which is quite a simple process to complete.
A+ Content Will Boost Sales
The second benefit of Amazon Brand Registry, which many argue is possibly a better benefit than trademark protection, is having access to A+ Content.
Amazon Brand Registry is a critical prerequisite for accessing A+ Content. You will not be able to create custom product pages with a unique storytelling experience if you are not registered.
Sponsored Brands Means Powerful Ads
Ever wonder why some brands are able to run Sponsored Brand ads? This exclusive program for brands who are serious about investing in ads is only available for registered brands.
If A+ Content is the most desired feature for product pages, Sponsored Brands are the most desired feature to drive traffic to those pages.
Livestream on Amazon
Did you know that you are able to livestream through Amazon Live?
For brands that want to connect with their customers, registering on the Amazon Brand Registry is a must. Livestreaming is one of the best ways to build a loyal following and Amazon makes it very easy.
The two immediate benefits are:
- When you live stream you will be featured on Amazon
- After you livestream, your video will show on your product pages. This can help with the overall customer experience and, in turn, conversions.
How Can You Get Registered in the Amazon Brand Registry?
A 4-Step Guide
Step 1: Make sure you have an active registered trademark in all the countries where you wish to enroll. You can also apply if you have a pending trademark filed through the Amazon IP Accelerator.
It makes sense that you’d need a trademark from the start since there’d be nothing to “protect” otherwise.
One thing to note is each country has its own special trademark laws and registration rules set by Amazon.
Step 2: Submit the Brand Registry application yourself, as the trademark owner. The trademark owner must enroll the brand first and add you as an additional user if you are not the owner but an authorized person (lawyer, etc.).
If you meet all the eligibility requirements then you simply have to sign into the Brand Registry with your Vendor credentials.
Step 3: Enroll your brand. The following are the Amazon Brand Registry requirements, so make sure you have these ready for the enrollment process:
- Brand name with an active registered trademark (for each country you wish to enroll in).
- Trademark registration number provided by the Intellectual Property Office (or the equivalent in each country). Amazon will only accept an approved trademark registration number and not an application number in process.
- List of all product categories that your brand is aiming to get listed on (beauty supplies, apparel, pet accessories, etc.).
- List of countries where all of your brand’s products are manufactured and distributed.
Step 4: Verification process. After the submission of all relevant documents and trademark information, Amazon will go through the process of verifying that you are the Rights Owner of the trademark you’re submitting.
If everything goes well, you will receive a verification code which you’ll need to send back to Amazon to complete the entire Brand Registry enrollment process.
Amazon Brand Registry Costs
In the United States, the fees for trademarks vary from the number of marks to classes to special use-cases.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office share that prices start from $225 per class of goods/services on their main trademark fee page but in reality, you should expect this to be the bare minimum.
There are other application fees, amendment fees, petition fees, processing fees, etc. The list goes on.
In terms of Amazon’s fees for you to fall under their Brand Registry program, it is absolutely free to use and apply.
Want an expert to help you out? Here at BellaVix, we make sure your products are seen, sold, and continuously optimized while you focus on growing your business. Get in touch with us now.
Keep up with the latest Amazon and Walmart news updates and subscribe to our BellaVix newsletter 👇👇👇