TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR BRAND!
Counterfeit products being sold on Amazon is quite common. Many consumers believe that counterfeits would not be an issue on a marketplace the size of Amazon and tend to trust ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ product listings. ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ simply means that Amazon acts as a platform for the seller and the buyer. Amazon are facing lawsuits and are getting sued for not doing more to protect patents and the purchase of counterfeit goods. However, Amazon is not legally responsible as it is just the platform.
To prevent counterfeit products from being sold, Amazon claims to have systems and thorough processes in place. This includes immediately scanning newly registered businesses and programs such as Brand Registry. Brand Registry allows companies to share important brand information such as their trademark and verified product photos. Amazon then has a system to use these and scan the site for counterfeits. Amazon also claims to respond to over 90% of all counterfeit notices within four hours.
HOW DO I REMOVE COUNTERFEITS FROM AMAZON?
1) Log into your Amazon Account – www.amazon.com
2) Go to Amazon’s infringement page – www.amazon.com/report/infringement
3) Report the infringement – Decide whether the infringement is trademark or copyright based. Provide as much information as you can to speed up the process. Write all details of the nature of the infringement and add links to trademark, copyright or patent documents. Include the ASIN(s) of the products subject to infringement.
On average, Amazon takes around 3 hours to 3 days to reply. If they accept your claim, ensure that they have taken the action to remove the counterfeit(s) from the site.
TIP – TURN NEGATIVES TO POSITIVES!
Signing your brand up to Amazon’s Brand Registry is a key strategy to significantly reduce the chances of counterfeits making the marketplace and alleviating any current counterfeits being sold.
AMAZON PROJECT ZERO
Some brands are invited by Amazon to Project Zero:
https://brandservices.amazon.com/projectzero
If your brand has received this invite or is already set up with Project Zero, then you can independently flag and remove counterfeit listings of your products without needing approval from Amazon.
Amazon does state that brands must maintain a high bar of accuracy in order to maintain their Project Zero privileges and that they’ll be actively monitoring to prevent abuses. Brands with Project Zero privileges are also required to take training.
Like Brand Registry, Amazon have integrated a brand protection system in which brands can upload their logos, trademarks, and other information about their brand. With this information, Amazon then automates scans across its listings and removes fake products.
In addition, Amazon provides a product serialization service. This puts a unique, Amazon serial code on the products, allowing Amazon to confirm whether a product is authentic before it is distributed from a warehouse. This is the only service under Project Zero that incurs a cost. The charge for this is typically between $0.01 and $0.05 per unit, depending on volume.
Although Project Zero is currently invite only, you can add your brand to the waiting list here:
https://brandservices.amazon.com/projectzero/waitlist
LETS DISCUSS THE WAYS THAT OUR TEAM CAN TAILOR STRATEGIES TO EXPLODE YOUR BRAND’S SALES AND GROWTH ON AMAZON