Amazon sellers should know that trademarks are the only way to protect their brands. The following summarizes some trademark-related issues in Amazon brand registration, hoping to provide some help to sellers.
(1) Advantages of registered trademarks
On the Amazon platform, sellers have the following advantages after registering trademarks.
·Registering trademarks can make sellers eligible for registration in the Brand Registry 2.0 project.
·Allow sellers to file complaints against infringers and have them immediately remove infringing listings.
·Allow sellers to file complaints against other sellers who use similar brands to sell the same products (different listings).
·The person who registers the trademark will become the first person to obtain the brand, and others will no longer have the right to use it; avoid the situation where the brand is preemptively registered by a third party, resulting in the inability to use your own brand and the listing being taken over.
(2) How to apply for a US trademark
There are two levels of registered trademarks in the United States: state and federal. Amazon brand registration requires sellers to have a federal registered trademark, which can be registered through the website of the United States Trademark and Patent Office (www.uspto.gov). Anyone (including non-US citizens) can file a trademark application with the USPTO for free. There are a few things you need to do to register a US trademark.
· Submit a “Statement of Use” as proof that you use the trademark in the United States (i.e., sell goods marked with the trademark).
· Submit a “Proof of Use,” which is a photo of the goods/packaging with the trademark.
· Make sure the trademark you are registering is unique in the field, which can be searched in the USPTO’s trademark electronic search system to ensure that the brand you are registering is available in the category.
· Correctly define and classify your product listing according to the regulations of the USPTO, which is the most complex task in the trademark registration process.
Applying for a US trademark requires a certain review process: US government employees will evaluate the trademark to ensure that the trademark qualifies for protection and that no other companies in the same business field use a similar trademark.
If you need to use the trademark in several different business fields, such as clothing accessories (such as hats) and backpacks, you can choose your business field when applying for the trademark registration.
After review, the USPTO will make the trademark public. If no one objects to your trademark within the specified time, you will get a trademark registration number. If everything goes well, it usually takes 7 to 8 months to obtain a trademark.