Editor’s Note: Originally published on Sep. 26, 2019, updated on Sep. 21, 2023.
The best thing you can do as a private label seller is to register your brand on Amazon. This improves buying experience and protects your trademark from other Amazon sellers. In fact, those are the two main selling points of the Amazon Brand Registry service. But how?
30 Advantages of Amazon Brand Registry
When you sign up for Amazon Brand Registry, you get more control over your brand’s presence on Amazon. Here are some exclusive perks, that become available to you when you register your brand with Amazon:
- Update product details and other listing information without opening a case.
- Report incorrect variations, inaccurate information, and hijackers who use your EIN.
- Access to the Report a violation’ tool’s time-saving Bulk ASIN Search.
- Single-handedly remove copycats with Project Zero’s DIY removal tool.
- Offer proof of authenticity with Transparency and block counterfeits from shipping to Amazon FBA.
- Liaise with the Counterfeit crimes unit (CCU) to remove and refer counterfeiter for prosecution.
- Showcase your offering with Sponsored Brands ads, which can be images, brand logos, and even video content anywhere within search results and on product pages.
- Create attractive, professional looking pages with video, product comparison charts, and other immersive content with Enhanced Brand Content (a.k.a. A+ Content).
- Get access to proprietary text and exclusive Stores (a.k.a. Store Fronts), a custom website on Amazon. Buyers can access it by clicking on your seller name and then follow your store by clicking the Follow button.
- Carry out A/B testing with the Manage Your Experiments (MYE) tool to find the optimum version of your bullet points, images, A+ content, etc.
- Access Brand Analytics to pin-point the target customer and see valuable metrics like keyword rank, click share, conversion share, and buyer demographics.
- When you run ads, track the traffic coming your way from different channels, including social media, with Amazon Attribution.
- Show off your products and deals with Amazon Live, a broadcasting service with interactive video streaming.
- Create Amazon Posts to share your brand content on Amazon for free.
- Use Subscribe & Save to promote repeat business.
- Make Virtual Bundles and cross-sell to lower costs and boost profits.
- Gain access to IP Accelerator for trusted law service providers and fast-track brand protection during the trademark application process.
- Avail of New Seller Incentives for a Perfect Launch with sales rebates, discounted FBA shipping, free Vine reviews, Transparency codes, storage, and CPC ads.
- Earn a Brand Referral Bonus on items sold due to non-Amazon marketing, paid as a 10% referral fee credit (i.e., you pay Amazon 5% instead of 15% in referral fees).
- See all your registered brands and any IP and infringement issues in one place thanks to the new Impact Dashboard!
- Appeal blocked listings and Not-as-Described complaints.
- File and retract IP claims on sellers with a similar listing, brand, and/or logo.
- Report review manipulations and other black-hat tactics.
- Use the Global Search tool to find fakes on other venues.
- See ASIN classifications based on average customer ratings.
- Use image search tools that match fake offers with yours.
- Use Automated Brand Protections (ABP) to block bad listings with ML bots.
- Add agents that can manage your Brand Registry account for you.
- Extend Brand Registry benefits to authorized sellers.
- Access a dedicated team at Amazon that helps escalate your cases and report tech bugs.
How to Enroll for Amazon Brand Registry
You must apply for Amazon Brand Registry separately for each marketplace, so first check that your product isn’t already registered. To register, simply access the Brand Registry page and hit ‘Get Started’. Amazon will then ask for a few simple things:
- Your brand name, active registered trademark(s), and trademark number.
- A list of the product categories you think your brand should be listed under.
- The list of countries where you make and distribute your products.
- Images of every product and packaging that displays your branding.
- Your website’s URL and/or a link to your webshop page (WordPress is fine).
- Your chosen key attribute (model, style, catalog, or part number).
Amazon will use this information to verify your business. If you’re approved, bots will check this data constantly to block sellers from using the same wording, images, brand name or logos, or claim that they’re distributing or making your product in a different country.
How do you know if you’ve been approved? Amazon will send a code, usually by email, using the contact details you provided. It can take anywhere from hours to weeks. In the meantime, try building up your performance metrics, feedback score, and product ratings.
Who is Eligible for Amazon Brand Registry?
Virtually anyone who owns the rights to a brand is eligible for Brand Registry, including Private Label sellers. You can even sign up if you haven’t sold on Amazon before. That way, you know you’re off to a flying start. But your trademark must be registered, not pending.
Mind you, when you register your trademark with the USPTO and then sign up your brand on Amazon.com, you only protect it on the Amazon US venue. To protect it on European venues, you could first register with the EUIPO and then sign up to Brand Registry on those venues.
| Note: Registering your trademark protects you when selling only a certain class of product. To apply for use of the trademark in selling more than one class or category, you pay more. |
Once you submit your application, you’re free to use the ™ symbol. But you can only use the ® symbol after you have a certificate of registration for your trademark. Here’s a list of government trademark offices Amazon sellers may find useful:
Who Isn’t Eligible for Brand Registry?
It depends on the country. As OnlineTrademarkAttorneys put it, in the USA, your brand name and logo must feature words or letters. If they don’t, then you’re not eligible for trademark certification. And without it, Brand Registry is out of the question.
And the wording on the product or packaging must also exactly match this trademark. So, if the wording in your logotype isn’t identical to the one on your products or packaging, then it’s rejected.
Even if your application is rejected by the USPTO, you may be accepted on a lower-level USPTO register called the Supplemental Register. If so, you can use the ® symbol, your brand will show up in trademark searches, and your applications in other countries may be prioritized.
However, it would take another five years of selling these products for you to become eligible for the Principal Register in the USA. And only then can you apply for Brand Registry on Amazon. If your trademark is issued by the USPTO, of course.
That’s Amazon Brand Registry for you in a nutshell. If you found this post helpful, please follow our blog and subscribe to our newsletter. We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as there are any changes to how you register your brand on Amazon.
Melanie takes an active interest in all things Amazon. She keeps an eye on the latest developments and keeps Amazon sellers up to speed.