Vendor Central – Business Value
Brand Registry
Section 1: Amazon’s Brand Registry
Cheat Sheet
What is the Brand Registry
• If you’re a brand owner selling on Amazon, then you know that protecting your brand can be a full-time job.
• Many brands are reluctant to sell their products on Amazon at all, for fear that their reputation will be tarnished by unscrupulous sellers.
• Even if you’re not selling your brand on Amazon yourself, someone else probably is.
• It’s notoriously difficult to close off every route that can lead to your products being sold on Amazon.
• That’s why we recommend that ALL brands enroll in Amazon’s Brand Registry to protect their products from counterfeiters and to control the brand experience customers have on the world’s most popular ecommerce site.
• Amazon’s Brand Registry is a program which identifies brand owners to Amazon.
• It helps brand owners protect their intellectual property and product content on Amazon.
• Brand Registry has a dedicated team which brand owners can contact to report intellectual property infringement, policy violations, listing issues and technical issues and also escalate previously submitted cases.
• Brand Registry also gives brand owners access to additional marketing programs, including Enhanced Brand Content and Amazon Storefronts.
• Amazon has faced several lawsuits from brands claiming not enough was being done to prevent counterfeit products being sold, along with other intellectual property (IP) violations.
• It seems that Brand Registry was introduced to help stem the flow of counterfeit and intellectual property infringement issues on the site.
• It also moves some of the burden of policing violations from Amazon onto brand owners.
• Because Brand Registry identifies brand owners and their authorized resellers, it also makes it easier for Amazon to begin enforcing their Standards for Brands Selling in the Amazon Store.
• Under this new policy, Amazon is telling brands that they can no longer sell directly to customers through the Amazon Marketplace.
•Instead, their only option is to sell items directly to Amazon Retail as a vendor. Brand Registry 1.0 offered brand owners control of listing content and a UPC exemption for their products.
• Brand Registry 2.0 offers:
* Listing content control;
* A dedicated internal team;
* A tool to monitor your brand on Amazon;
* Access to other marketing and authenticity programs; and
* The ability to add “agents” who can also access the Brand Registry tools. These features help to:
* Stop competitors from changing listing content to hijack or sabotage your listings;
* Make it easier to find and report intellectual property infringement;
* Make it easier to retract incorrect intellectual property infringement claims;
* Fix listing issues more quickly via a dedicated team with more focused training than the Seller Support or Catalog teams; and
* Showcase your brand on Amazon using Enhanced Brand Content and Amazon Storefront.
• It’s a relatively comprehensive program for brand management on Amazon.
• Amazon’s internal Brand Registry team enable brands to:
* Submit intellectual property infringement claims;
* Report marketplace violations including “not as described” and product review manipulations;
* Report listing issues including incorrect information on detail pages, incorrect variations and appealing blocked listings;
* Retract intellectual property infringement claims;
* Report technical issues; and
* Escalate previously submitted cases.
• See Amazon’s Report Infringement Form for the types of claims that Amazon will and will not enforce.
• Specifically, note that Brand Registry does not prevent other sellers from offering items for sale against listings that the brand owner has created or added images to.
• The other marketing and authenticity programs opened up by Brand Registry include:
* Enhanced Brand Content listings;
* Amazon Storefront; and
* Amazon’s Transparency code program.
• Private label sellers can enroll in Brand Registry, as long as they meet the criteria above.
• A private label is a brand.
• An agent cannot enroll in Brand Registry on a brand’s behalf.
• The rights owner needs to accept the terms and conditions and enroll in Brand Registry themselves.
• They can then add agents as representatives of their brand and give them access to the Brand Registry tools.
• Brand Registry does not help brands control distribution of genuine products.
• Brand Registry does not restrict who can and can’t sell your brand, nor does it help you to control unauthorized resellers.
• Don’t let anyone trying to sell you their services tell you differently!
What Else Brand Registry Can Do
• Brand Registry will not help stop gray imports.
• Gray imports are genuine products intended for sale in one country, which are imported into another country that the brand owner did not want those particular products to be sold in.
• These unauthorized imports might be identical to the local product or the packaging or product might vary in some way.
• Gray imports, also known as parallel imports, or a distribution rather than an authenticity issue.
• The Brand Registry team enforces intellectual property infringement and Amazon policy violations only; they do not help brands control distribution.
• However, if the gray market import differs in some way from the product usually sold in the country, you can do a test buy to check, then report it as “not as described”.
• Amazon will not enforce Minimum Advertised Price or MAP.
• It’s another distribution issue, outside the scope of Brand Registry.
• As the brand owner, it’s up to you to control distribution and enforce MAP through your distributors and retailers.
• Amazon usually requires products sold on its marketplace to have GTINs, such as UPCs.
• In the past, being enrolled in Brand Registry provided an exemption from this for sellers of products without UPCs.
• Now, you can apply for a UPC exemption with or without Brand Registry.
• You will need a letter from the brand owner confirming that the products do not have a GTIN as well as a link to the product website, or images of the products.
• Brand Registry does not prevent sellers from offering products of that brand.
• Brand Registry protects the listing content, but it doesn’t restrict sellers from selling the product.
• There is however, a separate program of brand gating which does restrict who can sell the brand.
• It enforces an application process which can require supplier invoices, an authorization letter and a substantial fee.
• We will look at Brand Gating a little further on in this course.
• Also, Amazon may ask for evidence that the products you sell are authentic, such as supplier invoices.
• This may also restrict your ability to sell the product if you do not have invoices that meet Amazon’s strict criteria.
• Although this is connected with product authenticity, it is not a result of a brand being enrolled in Brand Registry.
Registering for Brand Registry
• Amazon Brand Registry Program is designed for a brand owner to help enroll his/her brand with Amazon to access enhanced marketing features and have complete control over the brand.
• It helps protect a registered trademark on Amazon.
• This means that all the content, titles, bullet points, images, et cetera that you choose for your product listings must be used by anyone else wishing to sell the same product on Amazon.
• It is the best way for you to ensure that your brand language and the correct product information is used for your products across all Amazon Marketplaces.
• Amazon Brand Registry enables you to easily find content in different Amazon stores.
• Search for content using images, keywords, or a list of ASINs in bulk and report suspected violations through a simple, guided workflow.
• To enroll in Amazon Brand Registry, you will need:
* An active registered trademark for your brand that appears on your products or packaging. The trademark must be a text-based mark or an image-based mark that contains text. A purely graphical mark like the famous Nike “Swoosh”, for example, will not be accepted.
* The ability to verify yourself as the rights owner or the authorized agent for the trademark.
* An Amazon account. You can use an existing Amazon account (credentials associated with Vendor or Seller Central) or create a new one for free.
• Once you sign in, you will need to enroll your brand(s).
• After Amazon has verified the information you submit during enrollment, you will be able to access Brand Registry’s features to help protect your brand.
• Visit Amazon to start the Brand Registry enrollment process.
Enrolling a Brand
• To enroll in Brand Registry you’ll need to have:
* A live registered trademark that matches the brand name printed on products and/or packaging.
• You’ll also need to provide:
* Images of the brand’s logo;
* Images of products and packaging that carry the trademarked brand name.
•If the product itself is not branded, the packaging must be branded;
* A list of product categories (e.g., apparel, sporting goods, electronics) in which the brand should be listed; and
* A list of countries where the brand’s products are manufactured and distributed.
• If you were enrolled in the old Brand Registry 1.0, that program is now defunct and you will not be automatically transferred to Brand Registry 2.0.
• You need to reapply, following the aforementioned instructions.
• In order to enroll a brand in Brand Registry, you’ll need to log in to your account and click on the “Enroll a New Brand” link.
• After clicking the button to enroll, you will be asked to choose which one of 17 countries you wish to enroll in.
• You will then be redirected to the localized Amazon website for that country.
• This can be the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia, India, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates. There is no option to choose China.
• You need to apply for Brand Registry separately for each Amazon marketplace.
• Each country has its own registry so you need to apply separately.
• Brand Registry includes country-specific trademark requirements for enrollment, listing:
* Each country’s trademark office;
* For EU countries, the additional option of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO); and
* Each office’s terminology for trademarks which are text-based, or image-based but contain text.
• This allows you to check that your trademark is registered at the required office and is of the correct type.
• To view the specific requirements, go to the eligibility page then under “Step One” select, “Review country-specific requirements here”.
• You’ll need to then enter the brand name that has an active registered trademark and you’ll have to select if your trademark is “word trademark” or “design trademark”.
• If it’s design trademark, you’ll need to upload the logo of your Brand and then you’ll have to enter the registered trademark number.
• Brand registry currently only accepts trademarks that have been issued by government trademark offices in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico,
Australia, India, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates.
• If your trademark is registered in the Supplemental registry only and not in the Primary registry your application will be rejected.
• You’ll then have to answer the following questions:
* Do your products have UPCs, ISBNs, EANs, or other GTINs;
* Does your brand manufacture products;
* A list of product categories (e.g., apparel, sporting goods, electronics) in which your brand should be listed;
* Does your brand sell to distributors;
* Do your distributors sell on Amazon;
* Does your brand license trademarks to others who manufacture products associated with your intellectual property;
* Do your licensees sell on Amazon;
* Where are your brand’s products manufactured (enter the country or countries name or names); and
* Where are your brand’s products distributed (enter the country or countries name or names).
• After you submit this information, Brand Registry will send the verification code to your Trademark representative in the Trademark office.
• When this code is provided back to Brand Registry it proves that the trademark owner has authorized the application.
• Amazon will let you know who it has sent the code to, so you can notify your attorney or other contact to look out for the code. It is usually emailed.
• You’ll need to contact your trademark representative and to provide the code back to Amazon to complete the enrolment process.
• If the Brand Registry team is busy it may take longer but most clients have been approved within 24 hours.
• Brand Registry is free to join.
• The only cost would be registering your trademark with the relevant country or countries.
• Other sellers should not be able to change product detail pages under your registered brand, but there are other parties who can change your listings and these are:
* Amazon Retail listing contributions (made through Vendor Central) can make changes to product detail pages; and
* The Brand Registry team can also change listings and even override Amazon Retail contributions.
• If your listing has been changed incorrectly, you should submit a case through Brand Registry Support selecting Listing Issue → Incorrect informaIon on detail page.
• Once they have verified the provided information, you will get access to the full suite of Amazon Brand Registry’s benefits and features that help you protect your brand.
• There isn’t a publicly available database of brands registered with Amazon.
• However, one way to tell is that if a product detail page has Enhanced Brand Content (EBC) or A+ Page, then it is in the Brand Registry.
• EBC or A+ provides richer product descriptions with more images and sophisticated layouts and formatting.
• However, EBC or A+ is an optional feature, so if a product detail page doesn’t have EBC or A+ it doesn’t mean it isn’t enrolled in the registry.
• You can ask the right’s owner if a product is enrolled, if that’s possible for you.
Errors While Enrolling for Amazon Brand Registry
• As with most things, you may experience some errors while enrolling in the Brand Registry.
• Let’s take a look at some of these and how to fix them.
* You receive the error message “Due to your current account status, you are not eligible to enroll a new brand in Amazon Brand Registry at this time.” Or any error about your account status. If you are receiving this error, it means your account status is not normal. The only solution to fix it is by contacting the team mentioned in the error message and they will guide you to the corrective action. The error message will have an email address of the team you should reach out to.
* In the process of creating your account, you are on the page titled “Tell Us About Your Business” and you receive the error message: “Something went wrong, please try again later.” This is a system error. Please wait for 15 minutes before you try adding the information again. If you still face the same error and you are a seller, please reach out to the Seller Support team by visiting the “Contact Us” page. If you are not a seller, please contact support through Brand Registry “Contact Us” page.
* You receive the error : “Reset Default View”. This is a system error. Please wait for 15 minutes before you try adding the information again. If you still face the same error and you are a seller, please reach out to the Seller Support team by visiting the “Contact Us” page. If you are not a seller,
please contact support through Brand Registry “Contact Us” page.
*Reference 140 Error- “You have problems with your Seller Account. You cannot register your Amazon Brand Registry account with these credentials. Please go to Seller Central or contact Seller Support to update your Seller Account. After your Seller Account is active, you will be able to register at Amazon Brand Registry.” You are receiving this error because of either of
the below two reasons:
* Your current account status is not normal. Hence, you are not eligible to enroll a new brand in Amazon Brand Registry at this time. Please contact Seller Support to address your selling account status issue before reapplying; or
* If your current account status is normal, then the other accounts linked to your ID are not in normal status. In this case, please find out the account having issues and then Please contact Seller Support.
* Error message “You indicated you are a new customer, but an account already exists with the email abc@xyz.com”. You are receiving this error because there is an existing account associated with the email address you are using to create a new Brand Registry account. You may have a Seller Central or Vendor Central account, but you are not logged in with that account while creating your Brand Registry account. Using your Seller
Central or Vendor Central account credentials when creating your Brand Registry account will ensure those accounts are properly connected to your Brand Registry account and benefit from Brand Registry features.
* You are already in Brand Registry but receive a disclaimer: “If you are planning on creating a Seller Central account with the credentials you used
to log in, please create that account first. Once completed, please come back to Brand Registry to enroll your brand, using the same credentials. If not, you may continue with Brand Registry enrollment.” You are receiving this warning message because of two reasons:
* You do not have a Seller or Vendor account created. Please create an account; or
* If you already have a Seller or Vendor account created, abandon this registration, create a new Brand Registry account while logged in to your
Seller Central/Vendor Central account. You can also complete your brand enrollment using the email you used to create a Brand Registry account. After you are enrolled, contact Brand Registry Support to add your Seller Central or Vendor Central account as a user to your Brand Registry account.
* You are unable to apply for Brand Registry because of the error “There was a problem while creating your brand application” or you are already a part of Brand Registry but there is no brand record and the system asks you to enroll a new brand. This is a catch-all error message for any unexpected problem that arose while creating the application. Please try again after 15 minutes. If the issue persists, you can reach out to the Amazon Brand Registry team to resolve the issue on their “Contact Us” page.
*You are on the page titled “Intellectual Property” and receive the error message: “The trademark registration number you entered is in the
incorrect format. Correct USPTO format is six or seven digits long and should include numbers only. The trademark registration number can be located under the ‘US Registration Number’ field on the USPTO trademark record. Please ensure you are correctly entering the trademark registration number before trying again. If your trademark was recently approved, it may require up to 48 hours for the change to be reflected on this site.” You are receiving this error for one of two reasons:
* You are trying to add the serial number of the trademark instead of the registration number. Please ensure you are correctly entering the trademark registration number; or
* You are receiving this error because your trademark status is still not in the “registered” state or your trademark was recently approved. However, it may require up to 48 hours for the change to be reflected on this site. Also ensure, you are entering the correct trademark registration number and selecting the correct trademark office.
* You are on the page titled “Intellectual Property” and receive the following error message: “The trademark registration number you entered cannot be found for the trademark office you selected. Please ensure you are entering the correct trademark registration number and selecting the correct trademark office before trying again. If your trademark was recently approved, it may require up to 48 hours for the change to be reflected on
this site.” You are receiving this error for one of two reasons:
* You are trying to add the serial number of the trademark instead of the registration number. Please ensure you are correctly entering the trademark registration number; or
* You are receiving this error because your trademark status is still not in the “registered” state or your trademark was recently approved. However, it may require up to 48 hours for the change to be reflected on this site. Also ensure, you are entering the correct trademark registration number and selecting the correct trademark office.
* The trademark is on the Supplemental Register. If your trademark is on the Supplemental Register only and not in Principal Register, Brand registry will reject your application.
Brand Registry Roles
• Once you enroll your brand in Amazon Brand Registry, you are assigned the role of Rights Owner and Administrator.
• As such, you can add users and assign roles to help manage your brand.
• Different roles enable varying access to tools within Brand Registry.
• So, what roles are available and what do they do?
• There are currently three roles that can be assigned to user accounts associated with your brand:
* Rights Owner: An individual who is the trademark owner or their employee who is authorized to report violations. Users with this role have access to
the Report a Violation tool and listing benefits.
* Registered Agent: A third party who is authorized by the Rights Owner to report violations using Brand Registry tools.
* Administrator: An individual who has permission to assign roles to user accounts.
• Only the Rights Owner and Administrator can assign roles. The person who submitted the brand application is automatically assigned these roles.
• Each individual must create a Brand Registry user account and accept the Brand Registry terms before any roles can be assigned to that user account.
• If a user already has a Seller or Vendor account with Amazon, they can create a Brand Registry user account with the same credentials.
• Note that they do not need to submit a new brand application since the brand is already approved.
• The Administrator for the brand should access the “Contact Us” page within Brand Registry and select “Update your brand profile”, then “Update role for user account”.
• The information required to assign a new role is as follows:
* The email address login of the Brand Registry user account;
* The brand that the request pertains to; and
* The specific role or roles you would like to assign to the user account.
• The Administrator of the brand can request to remove a user from a brand through the Brand Registry “Contact Us” page.
• Select “Update your brand profile”, then select “Update role for user account”.
• Indicate the email address login (or phone number for mobile accounts) of the Brand Registry user account and the brand that the request pertains to.
• All existing roles previously assigned to the user account for the brand will be removed.
• Individuals are not limited to the number of roles or the number of brands they can have associated to their Brand Registry user account and Brand Registry does not currently limit how many user accounts can be associated with a brand.
• In order to know what roles you already have and where you can view who is associated with your brand and their roles, submit a case through the “Contact Us” page and a Brand Registry Support Associate can provide you with this information.
Brand Registry Support
• If you need the assistance on issues related to protecting your brand on Amazon you can contact Brand Registry Support. The Topics are as follows:
• Report an Intellectual Property Violation (Intellectual Property Infringement) – this is to notify Amazon of potential copyright and trademark infringements of your intellectual property. To report copyright or trademark infringement, use the “Report a Violation” tool. All submissions related to suspected intellectual property violations should go through this tool.
• Report a Marketplace Policy Violation or Retracting a Violation (Non-Intellectual Property or Marketplace Policy Violation) – this is to notify Amazon about a violation of an Amazon policy, or if you want to retract a report of suspected intellectual property infringement. If you are reporting a non-intellectual property violation, select the appropriate topic:
* Incorrect Variation: Use when the child ASIN is an invalid variation of the parent ASIN. For example, a “color: blue” variation was added for a shirt, but the manufacturer does not make this version of the shirt. Alternatively, the ASIN is a multi-pack that is not created by the manufacturer. For example, the manufacturer only makes a 4-pack, but a reseller added a variation for a 6-pack or an 8-pack;
* Not as described: Use when the item sold on a listing does not match what is described on the detail page. For example, the listing states specific pieces are included but the item shipped did not contain all of the pieces;
* Product review violation: Use when a Product Review is posted that violates Amazon’s policy that governs product reviews; or
* Other marketplace policy violations.
• Retract a violation – is used when you want to cancel your report submission, usually when there’s an inaccuracy in the original submission.
• Listing Issues – this is used to report problems with the accuracy of a listing, when you are having difficulty updating a detail page, or when a listing was removed from the site and you would like to appeal that decision. This is to be used for:
* Incorrect information on detail page: Use when you identify an inaccuracy on the detail page for one of the items listed under your brand name that
you have been unable to update. When submitting this information, you will need to include a description of the incorrect information as well as a summary of the correct information that should be included in the update;
* Reinstate listings: Use when you have been informed that your listing was removed because it was in violation of Amazon policy and you would like to
appeal that decision. Please include any prior communication regarding the matter from Amazon in your submission.
* Incorrect Variation: Use when the child ASIN is an invalid variation of the parent ASIN. For example, a “color: blue” variation was added for a shirt, but the manufacturer does not make this version of the shirt. Alternatively, the ASIN is a multi-pack that is not created by the manufacturer. For example, the manufacturer only makes a 4-pack, but a reseller added a variation for a 6-pack or an 8-pack. This option is also available under the “Report a marketplace policy violation” category.
• Update your Brand Profile – is used when you want to modify the privileges and
access for users associated with your Brand Registry account or when you want to update information related to your brand (adding a new trademark for a different marketplace or region). Granting access to authorized users/representatives that represent your brand can make it easier to manage your brand on Amazon. Available roles include:
* Administrator: User has full permission to assign roles to accounts.
* Rights Owner: User is the rights owner or an employee of the rights owner who is authorized to report violations.
* Registered Agent: A third party who is authorized by the rights owner to report violations.
• To update a role, the administrator for a brand must include the email address of the user as well as the specific role they want to either add to or remove from the user. All users must first create a Brand Registry account before they can be given a role.
• Technical Issue – this is used to report technical issues with your Brand Registry account. Use this to notify Amazon when one of the pages on the Brand Registry site is not functioning properly or if errors occur during your use of Brand Registry.
• Concern not listed – this is a miscellaneous, ‘catch-all’ topic and you can use this option when the issue you need to report is not adequately summarized by one of the other “Contact Us” topics.
• Escalate Previously Submitted issue – this is a process for you to follow-up on a request previously submitted to Amazon. Use this option if you want to appeal or escalate the outcome of the previously submitted case. Please reference the Case ID from the prior submission so that the escalation canbe tracked to the correct issue. For escalating an infringement-related issue, select Escalate an infringement-related Issue. For other issues not relatedto infringement (such as a prior submission about an inaccuracy on a detail page or request to update your brand profile), select Escalate other issue.
Brand Gating Compliance
• Amazon has always strived to make its marketplace convenient, vast and serviceable.
• Its commitment to these principles has helped it grow tremendously in the last decade.
• That growth has also attracted millions of third-party sellers attempting to latch on to the success of others’ ASINS.
• These sellers are normally vetted by Amazon through standard compliance requirements, but some counterfeiters occasionally still slip through the cracks and start selling.
• To stave off those unauthorized resales and assure consumers they can shop with confidence, Amazon turned to brand gating.
• The goal of brand gating, which allows private labellers and brand manufacturers to control the list of resellers for their ASINs, is to block unauthorized retailers from listing brands that have been officially gated.
• This is how you go about getting your brand gated:
* Sign Your Brand Up Under Amazon’s Brand Registry;
* Get Your Brand Trademarked Under the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or similar in your country (this is a recommendation); and
* Provide Amazon With a List of ASINs To Be Gated through your Brand Registry account.
• This is how you go about getting permission to sell a gated brand:
* Pay a non-refundable fee of up to $1,500 USD to get your brand approved to keep selling on Amazon;
* Include a letter from the manufacturer saying you’re okayed to sell their items; and
* Send Amazon three separate/different purchase invoices for products from that manufacturer or distributor.
Category Gating Compliance
• Gating is the process of blocking third-party sellers from selling products in certain categories until they have gone through Amazon’s vetting process.
• A gated category is a category that has required Amazon’s approval for sale.
• Amazon might require performance checks, additional fees and other qualifications for certain products and categories.
• The categories are gated to protect both customers and sellers.
• Current Gated Categories are:
* Amazon Device Accessories
* Automotive & Powersports
* Cell Phone & Accessories
* Collectible Books
* Collectible Coins
* Entertainment Collectibles
* Grocery & Gourmet Food
* Independent Design
* Industrial & Scientific
* Major Appliances
* Music
* Sports Collectibles
* Video, DVD & Blu-ray
* Watches
• Current Ungated Categories are:
* Amazon Kindle (Used only)
* Baby Products (excluding apparel)
* Beauty
* Books (New and Used, not Collectible)
* Camera & Photo
* Consumer Electronics (some restrictions)
* Fine Art (limited applications for new sellers)
* Health & Personal Care
* Home & Garden
* Kindle and Amazon Fire TV Accessories
* Musical Instruments
* Office Products
* Outdoors
* Personal Computers
* Pet Supplies
* Software (certain products may be restricted)
* Sports
* Tools & Home Improvement
* Toys & Games (restrictions for certain times of year – New and Collectible only)
* Video Games (certain products may be restricted)
• Ungating may be beneficial simply because you may have the best margins for a product that is in a gated category.
• In that case, it will definitely be worth your while to get the product ungated.
• Not only will you have the best potential returns, but because of the next two benefits from ungating, you’ll be set up to have few barriers between you and successful selling on Amazon.
• Two other benefits of ungating are lower competition and more stable pricing on items.
• The process and requirements vary from category to category, so again, follow the instructions that Amazon provides.
• Two things you should be prepared to provide in the ungating process are:
* An invoice from your supplier for multiple items (at least 10) in the gated category you wish to sell in. A receipt from a retailer (like Walmart) is NOT an invoice.
* The product ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) on Amazon’s website.
• The invoice requirements for ungating tend to change as Amazon responds to fraudulent sellers.
• However, people have had good results with invoices that is/has:
* A physical copy (NOT an email invoice – your supplier should be able to provide a paper invoice with your order without any trouble).
* You will need to take a picture or scan it for best results.
* Recent (within the last 90 – 180 days)
* Complete, clear information about the supplier (including business name, address, phone number, email, and website)
* The exact same information about your business as it is listed in your Amazon account (including business name, address, phone number, email, and website)
* Clear information about the product ordered (including the name and quantity)
* At least a quantity of 10 of the item ordered
* The ASIN noted clearly (either handwritten or typed – preferably handwritten) next to the product name
• If your request is denied, resubmit your application again and remain as polite as possible. You would need to request the category be ungated for your brand or ASINs by creating a case in Vendor Central by clicking on the “Contact Us” button at the bottom of the Support Center Page, selecting your Business Group and then choosing “New Item Setup” from the “Manage my Catalog” header.
Reporting a Violation
• Amazon uses the reports you submit to train their automated algorithms. The more you tell Brand Registry about your brand, the smarter their algorithms become. They will aim to automatically flag:
* Listings that use your trademark terms but aren’t your brand;
* Images showing your logo on products that aren’t your brand; and
* Sellers shipping products from outside of countries where you manufacture and distribute your brand.
• So the more infringements you report, the better Amazon’s own automated tools will become, so there should be fewer infringements to report manually in the future.
• The “Report a Violation” tool has search and reporting features you can use to notify
Brand Registry of potential intellectual property infringement.
• Search for content on Amazon through the “Report a Violation” tool.
• You can perform a text or image-based search to locate and identify ASINs, offers, and images.
• To perform a text-based search, on the “Report a Violation” page, search by product name, ASIN, product URL, brand name, or keyword.
• To perform an image-based search, on the “Report a Violation” page, in the Search by image section, click “Browse” to select an image to search for.
• You can upload images of objects, your copyrighted work, logo, and symbols among other things.
• Note that to search for content in a specific marketplace, use the drop-down menu next to the search bar.
• After you have identified one or more ASINs, offers, or images that you believe infringe your intellectual property rights, click the checkbox next to those items in the search results.
• To select specific offers or images for an ASIN, click “Show offers” or “Show all images” below the product name.
• Note that, if you’re viewing a parent ASIN, click the expander under the ASIN to see all variations.
• Click the “Select issue type” drop-down menu on the top-right area at the top of the search results and then select the type of infringement you want to report.
• Selecting the type of infringement takes you to the next step in the reporting process.
• Let’s look at each of these types of infringements one at a time.
• Report trademark infringement – After you select the content you want to report, select the specific reason you believe there is infringement, such as:
* A product detail page is unlawfully using my trademark (e.g. in product title, product images, product description);
* A product or its packaging has my trademark on it; or
* A product is counterfeit.
• If you don’t have a registered trademark number because you believe your trademark is protected under common law, please include the following
information in your report:
* Date of the mark’s first use in commerce;
* Identification of the mark as used in commerce, such as links to examples on your website; and
* Identification of goods/services for which the mark is used.
• It is recommended that you also complete a test buy and provide a valid Order ID to support your report and provide accurate and valid contact information.
• Report copyright infringement – After you have selected the content you want to report, select the specific reason you believe there is infringement, these being:
* The physical product or its packaging includes unauthorized copyrighted content or images without being pirated;
* The image is used without authorization on the product detail page;
* The text is used without authorization on the product detail page; or
* The product or its packaging is pirated (wholesale copying of the copyrighted product or packaging).
• Note that if you don’t have a registered copyright number, then include a link to an authorized example of the work, or a detailed description of the work if an online version of the work is not available.
• It is recommended that you also complete a test buy and provide a valid Order ID to support your report and provide accurate and valid contact information.
• Report patent infringement – After you have selected the content you want to report, select the specific reason you believe there is infringement, such as:
* Potential violation of my design patent; or
* Potential violation of my utility patent.
* Provide accurate and valid contact information and submit your report.
• To report an infringement in another Amazon marketplace, use the drop-down menu next to the search bar.
• For reports requiring valid registration numbers, you must have a valid intellectual property registered in the same jurisdiction as the selected marketplace.
• But now, what if you’re on the other side of a violation, that is, a company in Brand Registry is submitting claims against you! What should you do?
• The first thing you should do is figure out if you’re infringing on their intellectual property, for example by using their brand name in the title or description of your own private label product. If you are, stop.
• You should then send Amazon a POA or “plan of action”, explaining what led you to infringe on someone else’s intellectual property and what procedures you have implemented to make sure it does not happen again.
• If you aren’t infringing on their intellectual property, you can start by contacting the claimant asking them to retract their claim.
• If that doesn’t work, you may need to contact an attorney to send Amazon’s Notice team a legal letter.
• Some sellers have abused Brand Registry by submitting inaccurate claims against their competitors.
• If Brand Registry finds that a seller is regularly submitting false claims, they will revoke their ability to submit claims and potentially suspend their account.
Retracting a Report of Infringement
• If you submitted a report of infringement in error, you can retract it.
• Under the “Need help” section of the Amazon Brand Registry homepage, click “Brand Registry Support”.
• Select “Retract a Violation” from the menu on the left.
• Fill out the form as directed and click “Send” to submit it to the Brand Registry support team.
• To check the complaint identification for the violation you previously reported, click “Submission History” on the Amazon Brand Registry homepage.
Project Zero
• Amazon Project Zero is a self-service counterfeit removal tool for brands that sell on Amazon’s Marketplace.
• The self-service counterfeit removal tool is to be used only to remove listings for the sale of counterfeit goods.
• It is NOT to be used to remove offers for goods that you believe infringe other intellectual property, violate other Amazon selling policies but are not counterfeits, or that you otherwise believe should be removed but are not counterfeits.
• In addition, the self-service counterfeit removal tool is not designed to enforce counterfeit claims against trade dress or product configuration.
• If you have a registered mark protecting the shape or design of a product itself and believe that a product infringes that mark, you should report those items through the “Report a Violation” tool.
• When you remove a listing using the self-service counterfeit removal tool, a notice will be sent to the seller informing them that a complaint has been filed against their listing.
• Although your removals will happen automatically when you use the self-service counterfeit removal tool, Amazon will audit your removals to ensure that you are removing only counterfeit items.
• If you fail to maintain a high accuracy in removing counterfeit listings, you will lose access to the self-service counterfeit removal tool.
• Counterfeiting is a specific type of trademark infringement.
• A counterfeit is an unlawful total or partial reproduction of a registered trademark—or a mark that is very similar to a registered trademark—in connection with the sale of a product.
• Counterfeiting requires the use of a registered trademark on the product, packaging, or the product detail page to imply that the product is genuine.
• A similar looking item sold on a separate product detail page without the improper use of a registered trademark is not a counterfeit, even though the item might look similar or identical to the trademarked product.
• Only rights owners are allowed to access features of Project Zero.
• In order to use the Self-Service tool to remove a counterfeit, log in on your Brand registry account and click on the “Protect/ Project Zero” link.
• Choose the Marketplace on the left and then enter the product, brand, order number or up to 100 comma-separated ASINs/product URLs; or you can search the ASINs by image.
• Once you found the ASINS, choose the offer you are reporting and click “Next” on the right.
• If you have multiple registered trademarks, it is important that you select the correct trademark registration number for the item you are removing.
• Amazon does not enforce against trademarks registered with the supplemental registrar through any submission channel.
• We encourage you to conduct a test buy and share the associated order ID whenever possible.
• ASIN versus offer removal. Now, with the self-service counterfeit removal tool, you will have the ability to remove entire ASINs or specific offers on an ASIN.
• It is imperative that you only remove an entire ASIN if the ASIN itself is for a counterfeit product.
• If some offers are for the sale of legitimate goods and some are for the sale of counterfeits, you must remove only those specific offers from sellers that you know to be selling counterfeit goods.
• If you remove an entire ASIN when there are offers for both authentic and inauthentic products listed against that ASIN, your removal will be considered misuse of the tool, even if the action does result in some offers for counterfeit items correctly being removed.
• You can track the status of the listings you have removed through the self-service counterfeit removal tool in your “Submission History”.
• You are encouraged to regularly review your “Submission History” to ensure that you have been removing items accurately.
• Reinstated listings. If you removed an offer and see that the offer has been reinstated, do not use the self-service counterfeit removal tool to remove that listing again, even if you believe that the listing was reinstated in error.
• If you believe that a counterfeit has been reinstated erroneously, use the “escalate previously submitted issue” contact type within support.
• Retractions. If you remove a listing in error, you should immediately file a notice of retraction using the “Retract a complaint” link in “Submission History”.
• Other forms of intellectual property infringement. Again, the self-service counterfeit removal tool is to be used only to remove listings for the sale of counterfeit goods.
• If you believe that a listing infringes your intellectual property rights but is not a counterfeit, you should continue to use the “Report a Violation” tool (provided once you enroll in Brand Registry) to report such listings.
• Notices submitted for other forms of infringement will not lead to an automatic removal of the reported listing but will go through Amazon’s standard investigation process.
• Using the self-service counterfeit removal tool to remove non-counterfeit items will be considered abuse of the feature even if the removed listings otherwise infringe your intellectual property or violate Amazon’s policies.