Amazon remains the largest and top online retailer in North America, but it’s also a hotbed for counterfeits. In fact, because of the prevalence of counterfeit items, big brands like Nike and Birkenstock have stopped listing their brand products, citing worries over fraud and fake products.
If you’re a brand relying on Amazon’s distribution chain to bring in sales, you can’t afford to pull out. However, you also shouldn’t sacrifice your brand to fraudsters.
Fortunately, there are Amazon Brand Protection Agencies that can deal with these bad actors and help secure your brand.
Best Amazon Brand Protection Agencies
Seller Interactive is a dedicated Amazon marketing agency that has developed expertise in everything Amazon-related. That includes identifying hijackers and counterfeiters and protecting your brand against them. They don’t just spot these bad actors; they take immediate measures per Amazon FBA Guidelines to shut them down. In case you haven’t registered your brand, they will also help you navigate the brand registration process so you can reap the benefits of brand ownership. Services Offered: Offices: Ontario, Canada & New York, USA TrackStreet provides a comprehensive Amazon protection service that includes a proprietary platform and managed services. Their team combines investigative techniques with advanced AI algorithms to detect hidden identities and expose malicious intent. They are experts in areas like Amazon Brand Registry, creating MAP and UPP policies, formulating authorized dealer policies, enhancing Buy Box win rates, and DMCA takedowns. They know each brand is unique and provide tailored solutions that will not only protect your brand but also give it a competitive edge. Services Offered: Offices: Las Vegas, Nevada Red Points is a revenue recovery platform that provides automated Amazon brand protection services. The platform uses bot-powered search to scan Amazon for any potential infringements of your brand. It uses image recognition technology to scan Amazon’s listing photos and relies on machine learning to constantly improve its capabilities. You can set up automation rules so that once it detects any copyright infringement, it will enforce Amazon processes to have these violators removed. It also has performance dashboards so you can get full visibility of your brand protection coverage and measure the impact of your actions. Red Points processes 100 million incidents daily and has a 91.4% enforcement rate of success. Services Offered: Offices: New York, USA | Beijing, China | Barcelona, Spain Brand Guarde shares your frustration over unauthorized resellers (or authorized ones) breaking MAP pricing and stealing Amazon’s Buy Box. They provide brand protection services for Amazon and Walmart and will fight for your brand until you see results. It’s not enough to remove one or two unauthorized resellers. There will always be a new violator every time you remove one. For this purpose, Brand Guarde gives you the tools and services for a seamless seller removal process. They can work with any industry and business structure and will work with your internal and external teams. They’ve helped over 125 brands remove more than 23,000 violators. Services Offered: Offices: Los Angeles, USA Vorys eControl offers legal services to help companies protect their brands through effective, efficient, and legally compliant solutions. Their mission is to help brands navigate the complex eCommerce landscape so they can retain control over their hard-earned trademarks. They provide consulting and training services to educate companies about innovative solutions for handling fraudsters and unauthorized resellers. They focus on driving tangible business value rather than enforcing a “whack-a-mole” strategy of going after counterfeits. This strategic mentality has led the company to represent over 800 brands and win the 2017 Innovation Award for their unique approach combining SaaS technology and law to address this pressing unauthorized seller issue. Services Offered: Offices: Columbus, Ohio EliCommerce is an all-in-one Amazon Consulting Agency that provides seasoned investigations, partner lawyers, and eCommerce veterans under one roof. Their team comprises of ex-Amazon employees who know the ins and outs of Amazon and will stop at nothing to protect your brand. They provide real attorneys who are well-experienced with Amazon policies and will actively monitor your brand for any hijacking incident. They offer a guaranteed strategy to remove unauthorized and counterfeit sellers within seconds. Clients have attested to EliCommerce’s ability to remove hundreds of unauthorized sellers within weeks. They also use proven and effective strategies to enforce MAP compliance across your 3rd party resellers to ensure no one is undercutting your prices. Services Offered: Offices: Los Angeles, California eEnforcer has been in the business since 2011 and has helped hundreds of brands deal with thousands of unauthorized Amazon sellers. And they accomplished the majority of this without litigation. They deal exclusively in removing unauthorized sellers and have perfected the craft. They differ from other agencies because they can directly deliver messages to a seller’s doorstep and locate the sources of product leakage. Clients also get access to a dedicated professional team with over 30 years of unauthorized seller experience. Some of the brands they’ve helped included a pet supply manufacturer plagued by over 600 unauthorized sellers, a mainstream shoe manufacturer losing control over their pricing, and a skincare products manufacturer pressured by unauthorized sellers to reduce prices by over 50%. All of these brands have regained 100% control of the Buy Box and eliminated all unauthorized sellers, restoring the pricing balance. Services Offered: Offices: Florida, USA Established in 2014, POTOO has been protecting brands for close to 10 years already. The name POTOO is inspired by an Amazonian native bird, potoo, which is virtually invisible to the naked eye but essential for the ecosystem’s survival. In the same way, POTOO works behind the scenes to provide critical brand protection services for Amazon and eBay sellers. They collect in-depth data from their proprietary system to help brands control their online presence. They have received numerous awards and a business grant in recognition of their work and to help them expand the company. Services Offered: Offices: Norwalk, CT VantageBP makes Amazon protection simple and easy with their comprehensive monthly plans that work with any budget and need. They offer flexible solutions, so you’d only pay for the actual services you need. These services include detecting counterfeit listings, identifying unauthorized grey market resellers, enforcing price violation penalties, and expediting copyright infringement removal. They can also send automated physical notices to identified unauthorized sellers and conduct online investigations to constantly weed out these bad actors. They have conducted over 5 million successful infringement removals and are trusted by big companies like Unilever, Bose, and HDMI. They partner with law firms, eCommerce agencies, and advertising specialists to deliver a comprehensive and effective solution. Services Offered:1. Seller Interactive
2. TrackStreet
3. Red Points
4. Brand Guarde
5. Vorys eControl
6. EliCommerce
7. eEnforcer
8. POTOO Solutions
9. VantageBP
Why You Need to Protect Your Brand on Amazon
Almost 60% of Amazon sales come from third-party sellers. They play an integral part in the Amazon ecosystem, and while many are harmless, there’s a growing number of unreputable sellers targeting legitimate brands and harming their sales.
Here’s how these bad actors operate:
- Hijacking your listings by copying your Universal Product Code (UPC) and getting the coveted Buy Box
- Changing the details of your listing and violating Amazon policies so bots remove your listing
- Piggybacking on your brand by selling a legitimate product without proper authorization
- Selling counterfeit copies of your amazon brand products
- Infringing on the copyright of your brand’s creatives and using them without your permission
- Using your trademark to sell their products
- Making false claims on IP infringement against your brand
- Writing fake negative comments and reviews on your listings so you get penalized by Amazon
Because of these actions, your brand can suffer irreparable damage and lose customer trust. When consumers receive a fake product, they’d perceive your company as at fault and will cease to become loyal buyers. Worse, they can spread the negative review to their peers.
Unauthorized sellers can also affect your pricing since they are known for price undercutting and devaluing your amazon brand products.
As a result, your performance on Amazon dwindles, and you lose precious sales. Also, it can be difficult to bounce back from a tarnished reputation in a highly competitive market.
How to Protect Your Brand on Amazon
In 2022, Amazon removed 6 million counterfeit items from its website and spent $1.2 billion on fraud protection.
The best way to prevent malicious sellers from stealing your brand is to sign up with Amazon Brand Protection. This service will ensure you have your trademark, copyright, and intellectual property certification in place.
Even when you’re still perfecting your product, you should already register your account on Amazon and get the services of their Brand Protection team. They will handle the tedious registration process for you while you work on creating the perfect product for your customers.
Unfortunately, the US legal system can’t enforce your intellectual property if you don't have a copyright, IP, or trademark. It will be very challenging to go after unauthorized sellers and shut them down.
Amazon Brand Protection is just the first step. Even when you have all the legalities ironed out, unauthorized sellers can still target your brand. Amazon doesn’t do a lot to help enforce your IP protection. They believe that these disputes are between two distribution companies and that getting involved will be inappropriate.
For this purpose, you need the assistance of brand protection agencies. These agencies will help you monitor the Amazon marketplace to detect early warnings of unauthorized listings. They also have the capacity to enforce your legal right, eventually taking down these violators.
Brand protection agencies will also help impose your MAP (minimum advertised price) so that authorized resellers don’t charge lower than your agreement. This will protect your brand’s value and profits.
Final Thoughts
Protecting your brand on Amazon is an ongoing effort. The online marketplace is dynamic, and continuous adaptation is key to survival. By maintaining a strong brand identity and dealing with unauthorized sellers promptly, you’ll create a safer and more positive environment for your brand and customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I protect my brand on Amazon?
Protecting your brand on Amazon involves a combination of proactive strategies, monitoring, and enforcement. Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to do:
- Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry.
- Register your trademarks.
- Monitor your product listings.
- Implement MAP policies.
- Create a strong brand presence.
- Utilize product serialization or unique identifiers.
- Monitor and enforce MAP violations.
- Proactively address counterfeiters.
- Monitor customer reviews and feedback.
- Use Amazon Transparency.
- Use automated monitoring tools.
- Take legal action if necessary.
- Educate authorized sellers on your brand policies.
- Frequently update and adapt your strategies.
You can also work with a brand protection agency that will handle all of the above so you can focus on developing your product and growing your business.
Do I need to register my brand to protect it?
Yes. Registering your brand provides important legal and strategic benefits that will protect your brand’s legal identity, reputation, and intellectual property rights. Without registration, enforcing your claim over your amazon brand products will be difficult.
Registering your brand will also give you the exclusive right to use your mark and help you establish a strong brand identity. This will increase consumer trust and confidence and lead to higher revenue.
Why do I need brand protection services?
In today’s digital and global marketplace, brand protection services are essential to:
- Prevent unauthorized seller management
- Identify and prevent the sale of counterfeit or fake versions of your products
- Safeguard your intellectual property rights
- Monitor and enforce your brand policies on Amazon and other online marketplaces
- Enforce MAP and prevent price undercutting
- Manage negative customer experiences and preserve your brand reputation
- Provide legal support, including sending cease and desist letters and other legal action
How do unauthorized sellers get our products?
Unauthorized sellers can get your products by exploiting gaps in the distribution and sales channels. These include gray markets, authorized wholesalers and distributors, liquidation and clearance sales, ex-employees or partners, product returns, and supply chain leaks.
To prevent these leaks and minimize their impact, you must enforce strong distribution agreements across your channels and regularly monitor and take action against unauthorized sellers.
What legal rights do I have to stop unauthorized sellers?
You can protect your brand under the Lanham Act if you have a properly structured US trademark. This law, enacted in 1946, gives you the right to go after illegal sellers advertising or selling your products using your trademark.
Working with a brand protection agency with a sufficient legal background will give you confidence that they can go after these unauthorized sellers and impose lawful penalties.
However, this act is only valid in the US. A US trademark won’t prevent unauthorized sellers from distributing your product in other countries. Your best course of action is to know those countries' trademark laws and register your brand accordingly.
