How do Amazon sellers protect their brands from being copied? Comprehensive Guide

On the Amazon platform, sellers often encounter the phenomenon of other sellers selling their own products. This behavior will not only affect the seller’s profit margin, but may also lead to damage to the brand’s reputation. This article will explain in detail how to protect your brand from being copied.

1. What is follow-up selling?

Following refers to other sellers selling the same product on the product page you created. For example, person A creates a product page, and person B can also sell the same product on this page. Sellers only need to modify the price of the product, and do not need to edit the product text content and pictures. The original intention of Amazon setting up the follow-up rules is to encourage different agents of the same brand to compete on price, benefit consumers, and increase the attractiveness of the platform.

2. Create your own Listing

Self-created Listings can prevent others from copying you, maintain profit margins, and prevent others from tampering with the Listing content. The specific creation method has been described in detail in other articles.

3. Brand registration

Sellers can register their brand through an agency and file it on Amazon. After the registration is completed, the seller will receive an acceptance letter, which can be submitted on Amazon with the acceptance letter and relevant information to complete the filing. When filing, you need to provide the corporate website, email address with website suffix, product pictures with brand logo and other information.

4. Brand registration

Prepare the product registration acceptance letter, corporate website, email address with website as the suffix, and two pictures of the product. After submitting to Amazon, you can register within 48 hours. After completion, you can obtain a GCID code and obtain brand protection.

5. Issue a warning to the seller

If the seller is already a brand protected by Amazon, you can first resolve the issue of follow-up sales privately. Issue a warning to the copycat and ask them to remove the listing that is copycat. Some sellers may heed the warning and remove the listing, but there are still stubborn ones who need further processing.

6. Report to Amazon

Sellers can report copycats through test purchases, contact the platform in the Amazon backend, select “Report a Violation”, explain the situation and provide evidence in the report, and wait for Amazon’s official processing.

7. Benefits of Amazon Brand Registration

1. GTIN exemption: After registering a brand, sellers can apply for a GTIN exemption without providing an EAN number.
2. Automatic Protection Project Zero: Automatically scan and remove counterfeit products.
3. Save UPC code fees: Amazon offers GTIN exemption codes when you register your brand.
4. Request product lock: Prevent product information from being changed.
5. Image and text brand description (EBC/A+ page): Provide more detailed product information to enhance the shopping experience.
6. Create a flagship store: Enhance brand influence.
7. Headline Search Ads: Increase product exposure and increase conversion rate.

8. Measures to prevent Hijackers

1. Printing the registered brand or logo on the actual product.
2. Use unified brand packaging to display products.
3. Customize your product to make it more unique.
4. Bundle products with other accessories.
5. Use Helium10 to monitor the list.

9. Brand registration conditions

• Check whether the brand is registered: In the United States, visit www.uspto.gov and search through the page tmsearch.uspto.gov.
• Submit a valid r-tag: The trademark must be valid for the target country/region.
• Provide trademark owner certification information: such as trademark registration number, etc.
• Trademarks can be in text or graphic form, but pure image trademarks cannot be successfully registered.
• Amazon only accepts trademarks issued by the trademark offices of specific countries.

Through the above steps, sellers can effectively protect their brands from being copied, and at the same time enhance brand influence and consumer trust.