Trademark infringement and counterfeit products are a serious problem on the Amazon marketplace. In order to help combat these problems, Amazon updated its Amazon Brand Registry this year.
The new Amazon Brand Registry allows trademark owners to more easily search for infringements on the site with text and image search and provides a streamlined method for reporting infringements.
To qualify for protection on the Amazon Brand Registry, a trademark must be a “standard character mark” (not a stylized mark, illustration or design mark) and be registered on the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Principal Register, or the appropriate register in certain other specified countries. In addition, the trademark must match the brand name printed on products and/or packaging.
The program is free. To apply, you’ll need to register as an Amazon seller, if you haven’t already done so. Then you’ll need to sign in on the Amazon Brand Registry website and provide Amazon with the requested information, including the trademark’s registration number.
Registering your trademarks with the US Patent and Trademark Office provides a number of benefits besides participation in the Amazon Brand Registry protection program.
A federal registration is considered “prima facie” evidence of the validity of your mark and your exclusive right to use it with the goods or services covered by your registration. If there is any litigation involving the mark, the mark is presumed to be valid, and the other side would have to overcome this presumption.
Only federal registration allows you to use the ® symbol. Use of that symbol provides you with the presumption that the unauthorized user knowingly violated your trademark rights and makes it more likely you’ll recover damages and attorneys’ fees for the infringement.
A registered trademark that has been in continuous and unchallenged use for a period of five consecutive years may become incontestable. That is, you can secure rights superior to those of a prior but unregistered user if the original user doesn’t object to your registration within five years.
It’s much easier to defend a federally registered mark against cybersquatters who might register domain names that are confusingly similar to your mark.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about, or need assistance with, registering or enforcing your trademarks or participating in Amazon Brand Registry.
