If you’re a beginner who has started selling on Amazon, you’ll know how important protecting your asset is. Amazon Brand Registry is your guardian angel.
Through this guide I’ll explain why you need to enroll in this program and how you can get started. I’ve written this for the beginner in mind who has one or perhaps just a few products.
What is Amazon Brand Registry?
This is a program that helps Amazon sellers in having their brands identified to Amazon. You’ll be able to much more easily protect your intellectual property from counterfeit attacks and control the entire brand experience.
In a world of opportunity, you’ll also find the sharks lingering. They’re looking for brands that aren’t protecting themselves. This creates a reluctance for some to sell their existing products on Amazon, for fear of having their brand tarnished by the sharks.
I’d absolutely recommend that brands enroll in ABR. Amazon themselves have an entire team dedicated for brand owners. You can contact them to report IP infringements, policy violations, listing issues and much more. You can even escalate cases to higher ranks in Amazon’s corporate team, unlike just normal sellers.
Additionally, there’s simply more tools. My favorite is Enhance Brand Content and Amazon Storefronts. It simply gives a much better user experience to my future customers, leading to greater conversions.
This all came about due to the wild wild west scenario a few years ago and many sellers going into outrage. The hijacking
It’s now much rarer to hear if issues for new and existing Amazon sellers. The sharks have discovered that Amazon is watching very closely now.
Getting started with Amazon Brand Registry
Firstly, you’ll need to have the following attributes:
- Active and registered trademark shown on your product / packaging
- Contact information listed publicly on your trademark registration
- Professional ($40/month) Amazon seller account with the same details
The exact requirements are different in each country, but for the US marketplace at least, what I’ve outlined is true. It also needs to be a word-mark or image-mark which contains text, as opposed to a graphical mark. For example, Nike’s own tick wouldn’t pass, as their brand name isn’t on the logo, despite it being publicly known.
I’m sure, however, that Nike would pass, as big brands like this have special privileges on Amazon. ???? Given the
To get started with the Amazon Brand Registry process, simply log into your Seller Central account. Their instructions are pretty straight forward.
You’ll have to have your ducks lined up. These include:
- Images of your own brand and logo with the trademark symbol
- More images of your products with your brand name clearly shown
- An accurate product categories list in which your brand should be
- A current list of countries where your products are sold currently
All private label sellers can enroll in Brand Registry, provided you fulfill the above criteria first. As you can see, there’s some legwork involved.
People from any country can enroll in Amazon Brand Registry on the US Marketplace. Thousands from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore and many more have already joined.
You can expect approval within 24 hours in most cases. Amazon is working to protect brands that have their ducks truly lined up. Gone are the days of the wild wild west. They mean business and want to actually look after sellers once again.
Challenges for beginners
Now, it is free for any FBA seller to join the Amazon Brand Registry program. But there’s a significant cost to register your trademark with each country. For example, I paid $2,500 for the US trademark and $700 for the UK trademark. This is in USD. So clearly not a cheap endeavor, but I consider it a cheap insurance policy.
I pay for it once, and it’s done for life. Well, almost. Trademarks usually last 80 years. I think I’m good until age 112. ????
As I outlined as well, there’s certainly some work involved in addition to the capital requirement. The biggest downside is the time that it takes to get a trademark. Unfortunately the USPTO process takes 12 months for a US-based trademark. I’m an advocate of getting a trademark in ASAP.
Also, there’s a misconception that once you have Brand Registry, that you have full control over the listing. That is to say, no one else can sell your products. Amazon doesn’t help you control distribution of genuine products or simply block sellers from listing.
You’ll have to use software to stop those still attempting to hijack your listings. Such software notifies you the moment you have an IP infringement so you can respond instantly. You’ll be able to sleep better at night. Trust me.
But despite these challenges, the program is free and provides an immense amount of benefits for sellers. Consider it a complimentary insurance policy from Amazon for their top sellers that anyone can join, provided you work through the process.
In closing
I’d highly recommend that even those who aren’t yet live (but have their products on the boat) should start this process. Remember, it takes 12 months to get your trademark name. The sooner you start, the earlier you’ll be protected.
After spending so much on capital, no one else wants to invest into more expenses. But Amazon Brand Registry will help you sleep better at night. And after all, this is why we started this journey in the beginning.
Hi Joshua – is a brand name like a business name. Do you have to register in Amazon with a business name and have a logo? Is that like a brand name?
Hi Michelle, great question! You can go two ways.
Nike is both its brand name and business name. Same with SpecSavers, QuestNutrition, HiSmile etc.
Though a business can own multiple brands. Colgate is one example. It’s a brand owned by a parent company.
For the purposes of selling on Amazon, 99% of people have one business with one brand. Building multiple brands out of the same business is a big mission so the vast majority keep things simple with just a sole brand.
So yes, the business name and brand name is the same thing, with the brand build around the particular type of product(s) and customers.
To sell on Amazon initially, you can register with just a generic name like Michelle’s Homewares and get a simply logo created on Fiverr. Over time you’ll want to register a proper brand name with trademarks as I’ve outlined here, as Brand Registry provides so much protection.
Hi Joshua ! Good stuff again !
Tell me if I’m wrong (but I’m pretty sure I’m not ????). I think you can register for brand Registry in the US for a brand registered in the UK. To register a brand in the UK is much cheaper and much faster than in the US….
Hi Gilles again! Sorry to say…that you’re wrong today ???? but would’ve been eight months ago!
This is the advantage of knowing someone who’s not only well trained (multiple Amazon courses), well experienced (multiple products) but is also in the trenches day in and day out. I stay well up to date with what’s happening on Amazon. Much like you, with the research and progress, you’ve been sharing too via emails.
So yes, months ago there was this loophole that a lot of Amazon sellers were discovering. Apply in the UK for a brand trademark in the UK, then just use it in the US marketplace as you’ve suggested. The advantage was that the UK trademark is process is only 4 months and is cheaper than the US which is more expensive and takes 12 months.
So I applied for my UK trademark then a week later Amazon closed this loophole. ???? There are a few sellers still getting through (some undertrained staff at Amazon) but most sellers are being denied. Always best to have your US trademark anyway for overall protection, it’s just that this gave Brand Registry faster to prevent hijackers, which was the lure for many sellers.
That’s my problem always late to the party ! ????
I need to beat badly my other source then for the complete loss of credibility I now have on this blog ! Haha ! That’s what happens where one is not one’s own source of information!
Thanks for correcting me and for bringing accurate information. ????
Haha, I’ll forgive you! Especially with the constant progress that you’re making after joining Adam’s course with me. You’ll instead be early to the party in no time! ????
Is this a correct understanding Joshua:
> Register a proper Au business name with an ABN
> The “Brand” name can be completely different from the business name
> Then get a logo made up of both words containing the brand name as well as images
> Register that logo as a Trademark in ever country you intend to sell in ie USA, UK and Eu
So for example, my official Au business name (to sell on Amazon) could be Kirby Family Trading Pty Ltd “trading as” Kirby Family Trading …. or just simply Kirby Family Trading if not a Pty Ltd. My seller account would then be called “Kirby Family Trading” but my brand might be “Gizmos R Us” (if selling gizmo’s) so my logo and hence trademark would be based around the brand name “Better Gizmo’s” rather than around the seller account name or the registered business name.
Is that correct?
Hi again Skip, this the way that I’ve done it and some other Australians that I know. However, there are other structures and it’s best to speak to an accountant. There are variances between the seller’s country of residence and required tax structures. I don’t have a trademark on my logo (at least for now), only a word-mark. That’s the minimum that Amazon needs to get you approved with Brand Registry.
This is a key reason why US Amazon courses can sometimes be challenging for Australians. There are some great discussions on this very topic in the best Australian Amazon courses: https://www.workwithjoshua.com/the-top-3-best-amazon-fba-courses-in-australia
Also, if you’re looking for a good accounting crew that helps out Australian Amazon sellers, then Dolman Bateman is a solid recommendation.
Thanks Joshua …
That gave me all the info that i need. I have already been in touch with Dolman Bateman. They are excellent, but a bit on the pricey side. However, they really seem to know their stuff in regards to selling on Amazon so i will likely use them once i have some traction.
One more question. I have 2 Amazon Accounts. One is in the USA as I buy quite a lot of stuff on Amazon USA that i just can’t buy in Australia. I ship the products to a USA based freight forwarder who then strips out excess packaging, combines parcels to minimize freight costs and then ships it to my Aussie address (after adding Au GST 🙁 ) The other Amazon account is an Amazon Au account.
If i am going to sell in the USA do i use my USA or my Au account to create the Amazon Seller account?
And does the bank account details that you provide to Amazon have to be in the name of the business. To start with i was just going to use my “regular” personal account for my 1st run “proof of concept” product!
Use your USA account for selling in the US. Your Amazon Australia account has no connection. Different marketplaces essentially.
Best to use your business bank account as you don’t want Amazon to give you a non-sensical reason to suspend you. That said, I did get away with my personal account for quite some time.