Should I apply for the Amazon Brand Registry?

Introduction to Amazon's Brand Registry

If you have a retail brand, it might be a good idea to register your trademark with Amazon. Amazon's brand registry is a relatively new program at the company to provide new tools to prevent infringement and drive more sales. Plus, it’s free as long as your trademark is fully registered!

Here at Trademarkia®, more than 10 percent of our clients are listed on Amazon’s Brand Registry. Many of our customers hold the program in high regard, and they say it has become integral to their business. Best of all, most of these tools are completely free for any Amazon seller who have registered trademarks. Here’s some of the major reasons why some retailers like the program.

Brand Protection

This is the foremost reason to get your brand listed on Amazon. By getting it registered, Amazon will provide new tools to track down potential infringement or copycats who are selling knockoffs of our products or stealing your intellectual property. If you find any scofflaws poaching your brand, Amazon also claims it will move more swiftly to review and take down illegitimate listings.

The online retail giant does set some limits on what kinds of brand policing it will undertake. Amazon won’t intervene in brand licensing violations, especially in cases of contract violations or exclusive deals. Those kinds of disputes have to be settled between the two parties, or at worst through a civil lawsuit. 

If you report infringement, Amazon will send you a notice they are reviewing your notice. They will alert the seller alleged in your claim if your notice is found to be valid. They will then proceed to remove any content you reported and they may take punitive measures against the seller.

Early Reviews

Having buyer reviews of your products is crucial for driving more sales. If you have the top-rated product in a particular category, you should be seeing a significant increase in business. The problem is it’s hard to encourage customers to take the time to leave a review.

That’s where the Early Reviewer Program comes into play. Sellers pay Amazon $60 per product, and the company will recruit randomized buyers to write up reviews. The reviewers are offered a small stipend for their time, like a $2-$3 Amazon gift card. A warning, however -- Amazon makes no guarantees that these paid critics will give you gushing 5-star reviews. The Early Reviewer Program only encourages more reviews, and it has no bearing on customer satisfaction.

Free Store Page

Along with protecting intellectual property, having your trademark registered on Amazon also opens up the possibility of having a dedicated store webpage. These so-called Amazon Stores allow sellers to create their own customized pages to display all their wares affiliated with that brand. 

Amazon claims its store creation interface is easy to use, even for users who have never designed web pages before. These dedicated store pages will help shoppers learn more about your brand and your full suite of products for sale. The company also claims its dedicated store pages drive more SEO traffic, both internally with its own search tools as well as from outside platforms.

Store Analytics

By creating your own store page, Amazon also provides a new package of tools to monitor your traffic and sales data. These data analytics tools called Insights can showcase valuable trends like shopping patterns or competition marketing. Insights also features a set of premium tools that can help drive sales, for a price. Among these programs, sellers can create customized surveys to get feedback from customers. The price varies depending on the number and type of responses.

Getting Started

The brand registry process can be a little complicated, especially for retailers who aren’t already listed on Amazon. The most important first step is to register your brand trademark in any countries where you seek to list on Amazon. For that task, Trademarkia®’s legal team is happy to offer our services and expertise in getting your mark registered. Our legal team is ready to help you by offering a free 15-minute consultation phone call.

Conclusion

Amazon's Brand Registry offers new tools to prevent infringement and drive more sales. It is free for sellers with fully registered trademarks. The program provides brand protection by tracking down potential infringement and taking down illegitimate listings. It also offers the Early Reviewer Program to encourage more reviews. Sellers can create dedicated store pages to showcase their products and drive SEO traffic. Amazon provides store analytics tools to monitor traffic and sales data. Getting started with the brand registry process can be complicated, but Trademarkia® offers services to help register trademarks.