Do you know about Project Zero? If you are a seller on Amazon, it is vital that you do. While the name may sound mysterious and a bit aggressive, it’s a positive development for the future of your business and selling on Amazon.
This new initiative is one more step Amazon is taking to help brands eliminate the counterfeits. This helps you, the business owner, by removing counterfeit products. It helps Amazon by cleaning up their product listings. Customers of Amazon win because they will be able to buy with confidence.
Everyone wins but the counterfeiters. So let’s take a closer look at this new program.
What Is Project Zero?
This latest program offered by Amazon is putting the control back in the hands of businesses. The goal is to drive the number of counterfeit product listings to zero.
To be successful, Amazon plans to combine their innovative technology with a brand’s intimate knowledge of their own intellectual property. The combination will allow for faster and more accurate detection of counterfeits.
Automated Protections
How do you find counterfeits of your brand on Amazon currently? Do you scroll through endless product listing pages manually? What if you could automate this task?
If you have your trademarks in place, Amazon’s automated protections can do this scanning for you. Start by providing your trademarks, logos, and any other vital data. Then their system scans the over 5 billion product listings.
Self-Service Counterfeit Removal
Up until now, the Amazon Brand Registry is the only way to protect your intellectual property. If you find a counterfeit, you file a claim and wait for a review.
If you have your trademark registered with Project Zero, you take the control back. When you find a counterfeit, you can use the self-service tool to remove the offending listing immediately. This will have infringing products removed faster, thereby limiting the lost sales and damage done to you.
Every removal makes the system smarter. This means it will get better about preventing more counterfeits in the future. This is invaluable since most counterfeits open a new account and begin selling again when their listings are taken down.
Product Serialization
The third benefit from enrolling in the program is product serialization. This will prevent any counterfeit products from accidentally making their way to the end customer. All you need to do is enroll and add a unique code to your products during the manufacturing process.
When customers place an order, the serial code is checked, and all noncompliant products are removed from shipping.
Program Eligibility
While the program is currently invite-only, you can join the waitlist for enrollment. While you wait, you’ll want to make sure you have everything in order. The first requirement is to have a government-issued trademark. Without this, you have no proof of your ownership rights and therefore cannot enroll.
The Future of Selling on Amazon
We can be confident that once Amazon works the kinks out of Project Zero, it will open up to everyone. Once this happens, it will be essential to have your trademarks in place so you can enroll. Those brands that choose not to participate will become a bigger target for counterfeiters.
Brands enrolled in the program will have these powerful tools at the ready. Their products won’t be worth the hassle, and counterfeiters will move on to easier targets. This will make brands not enrolled more vulnerable. Don’t allow your brand to become a target.
Get Your Trademarks Ready
If you are an experienced Amazon seller, you should already have a trademark since it’s a requirement for enrollment in the current Brand Registry Program. However, if you’re new or haven’t taken this step, there’s no better time than the present to start the trademark registration process.
It can take several months to obtain approval of your trademark application. During this time, counterfeiters can continue to sell on Amazon, and you have no proof of ownership to stop them.
Don’t be reactive in the protection of your intellectual property. Let us help you start the trademark registration process today.
Contact us today and let us help you protect your intellectual property with Amazon’s Project Zero.
