How to Set Up Brand Registry on Amazon to Protect Your Brand in 2024

What is Amazon Brand Registry? Registering a brand with Amazon’s Brand Registry program benefits every Amazon seller. You should consider registering if you are an FBA seller, FBM seller, large company, or small private label business.

Can I sell on AMZ without it? Yes, but participating in this program is a great way to prove that the products you’re selling are yours. Your product will be linked to your specific account after Amazon processes and approves your application. It will make your business more secure on Amazon.

This program is entirely free. However, Amazon has made some drastic improvements to the program with the May 2017 update. Here are several reasons why you should enroll in the program:

1. Amazon Brand Registry helps you protect your registered trademarks. It creates an authentic and pleasant experience for customers.
2. Enrolling in AMZ Brand Registry will provide access to valuable tools. Some of these tools include proprietary text and image search and predictive automation. Predictive automation depends on your reports of suspected intellectual property rights violations. It gives you more control and increased authority over product listings with your company name.

In short, if a company tries to infringe or counterfeit your products, the Brand Registry program will make it easier to find and report them.

Amazon Brand Registry Requirements 

One of the critical changes in the Amazon Brand Registry Program is that you need to have a trademark. Sellers must have a trademark before participating in the program and its benefits. Therefore, the first step is filling out a trademark application if you have not already acquired your trademark. Then you will have to wait until your trademark is processed before joining the program.

The following is a list of information you will need to enroll a brand in the Amazon Brand Registry program:

• A company name that has a live registered trademark.
• Government Registered Principal Trademark Registration or Serial Number. For USPTO marks, the Mark Drawing Type must be equal to one of the following, and the text must match the brand name:
  • “1 – TYPESET WORD(S)/LETTER(S)/NUMBER(S).”
  • “3 – AN ILLUSTRATION DRAWING WHICH INCLUDES WORD(S), LETTER(S)/NUMBER(S)”
  • “4 – STANDARD CHARACTER MARK.”
  • “5 – WORDS, LETTERS, OR NUMBERS IN A STYLIZED FORM.”
• Images of the company’s logo.
• Images of products and packaging that carry the trademarked branding name. If the product doesn’t have branding, you must label the packaging.
• The brand should be listed in a list of product categories (e.g., apparel, sporting goods, electronics).
• A list of countries where the company’s products are manufactured and distributed.

What are the Amazon Brand Registry Benefits?

According to the Amazon platform, more than 130 thousand companies across the globe use the Amazon brand registration system. In general, they are reporting 99% fewer infringements than before the implementation of the Amazon Brand Registry.

The benefits of Amazon Brand Registry include a variety of advantages according to the platform’s website. The most important ones are those listed below:

1. More accurate representation of your brand 

 Amazon Brand Registry provides you with better control over platform product pages that include your brand name, so more clients can see the proper information about your brand.

2. Great search and reporting tools

The Amazon marketplaces make the process of spotting cases of infringement simpler with the help of custom tools developed specifically for all brands:

• Global search: look for the necessary content in various Amazon stores on the same phone screen without any need to navigate away
• Image search: search Amazon product listings that correspond with your item(s) or logo(s) with the help of images
• ASIN search in bulk: find a list of item URLs or ASINs in bulk to find and report possibly infringing content promptly (and increase image thumbnails with this feature to identify infringers easier)
• Sort list view of average client ratings of items to boost the popularity

Once you finish your search, Amazon Brand Registry gives you a guided and simple workflow to send a report of any possible infringement that the Amazon platform can check and take the necessary actions on.

3. Extra proactive protection for your brand

Moreover, apart from the standard proactive tools that Amazon uses to protect its clients, the Brand Registry uses the information sellers provide about their brand to introduce additional proactive protections that help spot and delete potentially harmful product listings.

The more data about your company and intellectual property you provide for the Brand Registry support members, the better Amazon can assist you in protecting your business. For instance:

• Item listings are not for your company and improperly use your terms with trademarks in their product descriptions, titles, and detail pages.
• Pictures that include your logo, however, show items without the name of your Amazon storefront.
• Sellers that deliver goods from countries where you do not produce or distribute the branded products.
• Product listings are created with your brand name, but when you have released the full catalogue with products on the platform.

4. Benefits for building your brand

Develop and boost your Amazon business by leveraging such features as Stores, Enhanced Brand Content, Brand Dashboard, and Sponsored Brands. 

What is the Amazon Brand Registry Cost? 

Nowadays, there are no additional costs for Amazon Brand Registry. However, at the same time, you will need to register your trademark to meet the requirements for application on the Brand Registry on Amazon.

Usually, fees to register a trademark vary from $225 to $400. Besides, these costs can range based on the category of protection you wish to purchase.

How Is a Trademark Obtained for Brand Registry?

Getting a trademark for a brand registry may seem daunting, but several options exist for acquiring your trademark.

You can get your trademark from the official government service – USPTO. But, if you are unfamiliar with legal terms and procedures, you may want to hire a local lawyer or use online services. Trademarkia and LegalZoom are two online services for people applying for trademarks.

If you are interested in participating in the new Amazon Brand Registration program, you should file your trademark application as soon as possible. The entire application and approval process may take between six months to a year to be completed. The time that elapses before trademark approval depends on the pending registrations in the USPTO system. You can view the USPTO system here.

If you have not applied for a trademark, you should stop reading this article for a moment and sign up for SageMailer. While waiting for your trademark to be processed, you can work on other aspects of your business. For example, SageMailer will be helpful in drastically improving your seller’s rating.

How to Register Your Brand with Amazon’s Brand Registry

The Amazon brand registry effectively proves that you are the owner of the product you are selling. After the marketplace approves your business registration application, the products you sell will be linked to your account. The listings you make will then have more security from hackers. This added protection greatly benefits sellers who want to lower the risk of hijackers and counterfeit products. Without this protection, hijackers and counterfeit products could destroy your reputation.

It is important to note that brand registration is meant only for manufacturers, brand owners, and distributors who have written authority from the brand owner to sell a specific item on Amazon. Traders who do not belong to one of these three categories will not be allowed to register a brand.

Moreover, Amazon prohibits the registration of two specific categories:

1. DVDs, Videos, Music, and Books
2. Products that fall into the categories of sports collectable and entertainment

Amazon will not register your brand if you attempt to register products that fall into the above categories.

But, if your product meets Amazon’s requirements, you should register it as soon as possible. To assist you in starting and navigating the registration process smoothly, below is a checklist of all the things you’re required to complete the Amazon brand registration process.

A brief outline of all the things required to register a brand with Amazon:

A Functional Website

A working website is required for registering a business. Having an active website enables your products to be linked to the site. Having a functional website means that the site should be live online and hosted. Even so, you do not need a fancy site. For instance, if you cannot hire a developer, you can have a simple site that displays your company name and the images of the product(s). Remember, though, that submitting a brand to Amazon is not the same as advertising it to potential customers (to market and sell your products directly to Amazon customers, check out Amazon Seller Central).

A Custom Email Address

AMZ prefers dealing with websites that display custom email addresses. For instance, if your website’s URL is www.bestcompanyname.com, the email address displayed on your site could be [email protected].

Creating a custom email address is easy and inexpensive (some sites charge as little as $1.99 a month). One of the best-known and trusted providers of custom email addresses is Google’s Gmail. Another popular choice is GoDaddy. Both of these providers make creating a custom email straightforward.

Packaging Images and Products

To register a brand with Amazon, you will need pictures of the brand and products. The marketplace requires traders to have images showing their product packaging and a clear company name. Hiring a professional may be a good option if you do not already have clear pictures of your products for the program.

Amazon will also ask you for an extra photo showing the products you are selling together with a clear image of the brand. For example, if you are selling tracking suits, you will need a high-resolution picture of the package showing your label. Then they will need another picture showing the suit outside the box with a clear image of your business. The only traders exempted from this requirement are those dealing with products in the Health, Beauty, and Grocery categories. For example, branding cucumbers outside of their packaging is unnecessary. Amazon will accept additional images of the product packaging.

A customized brand identity/key attribute

The sellers on Amazon must provide a unique identifier or a key attribute of the product they are selling. In most cases, sellers use a UPC to identify their products. Amazon also provides several other methods that can be used to determine the branded products on Amazon. These methods include:

1. Manufacturer Part Number
2. Model Number
3. UPC
4. EAN
5. JAN
6. Catalog Number
7. Style Number

Whether you use an EAN, JAN, serial number or another identification method, you should opt for a stable identifier. It means that it will not change in the future. Of course, it does not mean that AMZ does not allow you to change your unique identifier, but the process is tedious if you must do so. Using a timeless identification method will save you plenty of frustration later on.

Amazon provides a list of all product categories and acceptable methods of identifying them to assist you in making a decision. You should refer to the appropriate table to make sure you choose an excellent key attribute.

A Completed Application

To complete an application, go to the Amazon brand registry page. There you will be prompted to enter information in the required fields.

Ensure the business name is keyed as indicated on the product label, excluding the product title. For example, if you are selling a product named “Backstreet Cats DeShedding Tool” on AMZ, you should use the business name “Backstreet Cats.”

The next step is to upload the pictures of your products and packaging (or a second packaging image for traders dealing with Beauty, Groceries and Health products).

Next, you need to add specific information related to your business.

Pick the relevant category under which your product would be registered.

Choose the unique identifier or critical attribute you want to use to identify the product.

Click Submit after you have completed the brand registry application. It marks the beginning of the approval process. You should receive a response within two weeks. Contact the support desk for clarification if there is no response within three weeks.

How to Know If Your Application Process Was Successful?

Once you initiate the registration process with the AMZ Brand Registry program, you can check the status of acceptance of your company with some simple ways listed below.

Unique Identifier:  As you see a unique identifier (UPC, EAN etc.) on your goods, your Amazon Brand Registry procedure was successful. If you are the only person selling any individual item, then in such a case, the marketplace assigns your Global Catalogue identifiers. However, if you see ASIN on the goods, it indicates that your company is yet to be approved by the platform. Thus, you should keep a tab on those identifiers.

Utilizing Enhanced Brand Content (EBC): If you’re denied EBC, your branding is yet to be authorized by Amazon for various reasons. So, just attempt to make your business profile engaging and exciting and check if it becomes possible to make any progress.

AMZ Brand Registration Help:  If you are interested in your brand’s approval status, then the best way is to call the marketplace’s Service Center. The customer care representative will quickly inform you if your company has been registered with the platform or not.

Other Methods to Enhance Your Brand

Of course, AMZ Brand Registry is not the only way to enhance and safeguard your brand. We recommend merchants on AMZ implement the following ways as well:

Consistency

Consistency with your product listings seems professional and allows clients to spot and avoid imposter listings. You may achieve consistency with:

• Branding – using distinctive color schemes and logos;
• Product images– using the same backgrounds, lighting, and in-context product photos;
• Working – adopting the specific style, format, and tone in all of your Amazon listings.

Client experience

Positive client experience enhances customer lifetime value – ensuring shoppers return to your product listings rather than purchasing around and being exposed to fake listings. You may improve customer experience with:

• Customer care – replying to complaints and queries promptly and effectively;
• Fast shipping – delivering your products in two days with in-house fulfillment, an SFP fulfillment service, or FBA;
• Amazon Prime – providing customers with Prime benefits, including exclusive discounts and free shipping.

Multi-channel selling

If you are only selling and safeguarding your business on AMZ, you are opening the door for improper brand usage on other sales channels. Multi-channel online commerce allows you to achieve a brand presence across many sales channels such as Walmart and eBay – ensuring the experience for clients wherever they purchase.

Conclusion

Amazon brand registration is an excellent way to assist your company. It will allow your company to grow into a force to be reckoned with. Protect your company by registering it as soon as possible. Failing to register your products puts you at risk of being taken over by hijackers. Protecting your brand through registration is the way to go if you sell products on Amazon. Sellers with registered brands can also be invited to the Vendor Central program.

P.S. If you have completed the brand registration process, you can take the next 2 minutes to register for a free SageMailer trial account. This free trial will help you get numerous Amazon reviews and feedback, which is vital to more sales on the platform.