Though Amazon FBA is one of the best ways to increase sales, many sellers and businesses face multiple challenges, which hinder their abilities to market efficiently.
From not being able to change the product listing’s description to not having the details modified from another seller for the same product that the manufacturer has retailed, the reasons behind this could be many.
Fortunately, this is where the concept of Amazon Brand Registry comes in.
Amazon Registry can play a key role in an online business.
Whether a manufacturer is small or big, they can register their brand with Amazon and gain complete control over the product listings.
Believe it or not, there are lots of incredible features and benefits of this exclusive scheme for all registered brands.
Let’s understand it in detail.
Amazon Brand Registry Program is designed for a brand owner to help enroll his/her brand with Amazon to access enhanced marketing features and have complete control over the brand.
It helps protect a registered trademark on Amazon. The enrollment to it is a straightforward and one-time process, which is done at Seller Central.
Undoubtedly, Amazon is set up exclusively with complicated algorithms to compile product information from various sellers.
Apparently, it turns out to be easier for product details to be listed wholly wrong or distorted.
So, Brand Name Registry is also highly useful if a manufacturer has different retailers selling his/her products online.
The scheme becomes highly important for sellers selling through Amazon Seller Central. Without the assistance of the brand itself, a seller might miss a lot in terms of sales. It is a platform to help sellers to:
As the name implies, Brand Registry is for a brand (also an Amazon Seller) that has an active registered trademark.
On the other hand, if a seller is “authorized,“ then the brand owner can also be granted a Brand Registry on their behalf.
The concept of Amazon Registry is not new. In fact, it has been there for many years in different forms.
However, it was in May 2017 that the scheme was overhauled to help trademarks protect the way their products were listed by other retailers by giving them access to additional tools for optimization.
While the initial scheme also had the same idea behind it, the platform struggled a lot with increasing counterfeit products. That’s exactly when Amazon announced its new initiative in March 2017 that will help eliminate all the fake products that are being sold on their website. With continuous efforts, it launched something we call, Amazon Brand Registry 2.0.
As per the current Amazon policy, any brand (small or big) with a trademark qualifies to enroll for its Registry Program.
The moment a brand enrolls for the 2.0 registry version, it lets them to:
There are multiple benefits of this scheme and these include:
Benefits of Amazon Brand Registry – Why do you need it?
If a person or business is an Amazon Seller and manufactures or sells under his/her brand, enrolling with an Amazon Brand Registry application is highly essential. It not only protects the registered amazon trademarks but also creates a trustworthy experience for buyers.
Here are three key reasons to go for the registry scheme:
1. Shields The Brand From A Product-Hijack
A common fear that most sellers will have while selling a product under their brand is what if any random merchant hijacks their product. Obviously, Amazon is a massively competitive marketplace and with a huge seller base, there are thousands out there, who go an extra mile to stay ahead.
Nevertheless, Amazon Registry, not only allows the brand to be registered but also gives sole ownership to the “Amazon Buy Box“. Therefore, even if someone tries to hijack the product, the authorized or actual seller can contact Amazon seller support to have it eliminated.
2. Gain Complete Control On The Product Listings
An Amazon’s regular seller is more often bound by their stringent algorithmic requirements. However, with their Registry program, the rules are loosened, and a seller has complete control over the following:
3. Broad Access As To Who Can Sell A Brand
With Amazon’s registry option, a brand can decide who can sell its products. There are basically five types of sellers that qualify:
Note: If a seller sells in any two of the categories given below, he/she disqualifies for the above-mentioned five criteria:
The eligibility requirements vary from one country to the other. Here is the list:
Country Name | Eligibility Requirements |
---|---|
United States | Trademark organization is USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). Text-based marks are 1 – Letter(s)/Word(s)/Number(s) and 4 - Standard Character Mark. The trademark should have an active registration in the principal register. The image-based trademark should include a drawing that can have letter(s)/word(s)/number(s) in any stylized form. |
Canada | The trademark organization is CIPO (Canadian Intellectual Property Office). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be a word. The image-based mark has to be a design. |
Mexico | The trademark organization is IMPI (Marcas Instituto Mexicano de Propiedad Industrial). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be a nominativa. The image-based mark has to be mixed – design and text (innominada o Diseno + nominativa). |
Brazil | The trademark organization is INPI (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be a nominativa. The image-based mark has to be Mista Contendo Elementos Nominativos. |
United Kingdom | The trademark organization is UK IPO (United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office) and EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be a word. The image-based mark has to be a figure (for UKIPO) and figure with word (for EUIPO) |
Germany | The trademark organization is EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and DPMA (Deutsches Patent und Markenamt). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be a wortmarke. The image-based mark has to be Bildmarke mit Wortelementen (for EUIPO) and Wort-Bildmarke (for DPMA). |
Spain | The trademark organization is EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and OEPM (Oficina Espanola de Patentes y Marcas). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be a Marca denominative (for EUIPO). The image-based mark has to be Marca figurativa (EUIPO) and Marca figurativa que contiene elementos denominativo (for EUIPO) and Mixta - Denominativo con gráfico (for OEPM). |
Italy | The trademark organization is EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and UIBM (Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi). The trademark should be registered. The text-based mark has to be Marchi denominativi ( for EUIPO) and Marchio verbali (for UIBM). The image-based mark has to be Marchi figurativi contenenti elementi denominativi (for EUIPO), Marchio figurativi (for UIBM), and Marchio figurativi a colori (for UIBM). |
France | The trademark organization is EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and INPI (Institut national de la propriété industrielle). The trademark has to be registered. The text-based mark has to be Marque verbale (for EUIPO). The image-based mark has to be Marque figurative comportant des éléments verbaux (for EUIPO) and Marque figurative (for EUIPO). |
India | The trademark organization is Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks. The trademark has to be registered. The text-based mark has to be a word. The image-based mark has to be a device or combined. |
Australia | The trademark organization is IP Australia. The trademark has to be registered. The text-based mark has to be a word (can be either fancy or plain). The image-based mark has to be a combined. |
To get started, one has to have an account in the Amazon Seller Central. Once that is done, go to their official Brand Registry Portal and follow the steps written below.
To sign up and verify a Brand Registry account, one has to do the following:
Once the account verification is complete, the next step is to enroll the brand. This includes four important criteria:
Once the application is submitted successfully, Amazon then validates all the information. This takes from 2 to 10 days for the process to finish and have the brand registry activated. At this phase, Amazon sends a code to the registered trademark office.
The seller has to reach that registered contact and make them aware they will receive an email from Amazon, which needs to be forwarded back to the seller.
Once the above steps are done and the code is entered successfully, the process of Brand Registry completes within 1 – 2 working days.
So, you have filled the form and are awaiting their approval. How do you know if the brand is approved by Amazon? Here are a few simple ways to do so.
Once you see the unique identifier on your product (the UPC, EAN, etc.) it is confirmed that your brand has been approved by Amazon. Sometimes Amazon assigns Global Catalog Identifiers if you are the only person selling that unique product.
If you see an Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) it means your brand is yet to be approved. So, keep your eye open for identifiers.
If you are denied EBC this means that Amazon is yet to approve your brand for various reasons. So, try to play around with your brand profile and see if you make progress.
The most convenient way is to call the Amazon Service Centre. A customer care representative would be happy to tell you if your brand has been registered.
They will also help you solve any issues for which your brand is denied registration.
If you are a small manufacturing company, a sole distributor, or one that has a unique product for the market, it is highly suggested that you register your brand in the program. Benefits like the EBC, HSA, Amazon Buy Box will give you a head start on your business. It also gives you complete control of your brand.
You are in control of the products you display, your logo, and product descriptions. This is important if you want to maintain the integrity of your brand.
Make sure to fill in the form carefully so that your brand is registered after your first try.
The above steps are only to apply the brand to a registry and have it successfully enrolled.
This is just the end of one phase. In order to have the items listed and get the brand registry completely, it has to be activated for all the products.
It happens because one might have signed up under a method like MPN (Manufacturer Part Number), Catalog Number, or UPC code.
This can be checked with the help of the menu option Reports > Business Reports > Brand Performance.
The ASINs listed out here denote that they are actively enrolled for Brand Registry. But if there aren’t any products listed, then a partial update needs to be done via UPC code, Catalog Number, MPN Number. To get this right, enable the Product Category Listing Report and download the specific category that the brand is categorized in. Finally, do a partial update to the file template.
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Muneeza Irfan
April 11, 2021Perfectly explained each and every step.
Thank you SellerApp.
Arishekar N
June 16, 2021We are happy to hear that you liked the blog.
Thank you.
zovre lioptor
May 22, 2021Very Informative article.
Thanks again