navigating the new amazon brand registry

Navigating The New Amazon Brand Registry

The Amazon Brand Registry has changed! If you are a Private Label seller, you probably already knew this. In fact, Brand Registry closed completely for a few weeks earlier this year, opening up again in May. There have been some changes and we’ve been getting lots of questions from our readers in our Million Dollar Case Study and the Ask Jungle Scout series.

The good news is, this article is going to outline exactly what the changes are and how it affects us sellers. We are going to cover:

  • What Brand Registry looks like now
  • The pros and cons of the new Brand Registry
  • Some actionable insight into trademarking
  • UPC’s, Barcodes and GTIN (Global Trade Identification Number) exemptions
  • Everything you need to know to decide whether to proceed with Brand Registry as a Private Label seller

New to Selling on Amazon?

If this is your first time learning about Amazon selling and would like to learn more about the process, be sure to check out our FREE course on Amazon selling: How to Sell on Amazon FBA for Beginners.

Also, make sure you check out Jungle Scout, the #1 tool to help starting sellers create their Amazon businesses.

The obligatory disclaimer: This post does not contain legal advice. These are observations from our shared experience and research as Amazon sellers. We would always suggest that you do things by the book and to adhere to Amazon’s Terms of Service. When in doubt, seek advice from a legal professional.

 

How The Amazon Brand Registry Has Changed

When Amazon make changes, it sometimes means sellers have to adapt and change their methods and processes. As annoying as this might be, the changes that Amazon put in place are always with one important goal in mind: to make Amazon a better place for shoppers.

As sellers, this is in our best interests too. One of the main expectations from sellers is that Amazon continues to be the biggest online marketplace, with millions of happy customers and an abundance of opportunity for entrepreneurs and business owners.

That being said, it can be frustrating when these changes are forced upon us. But rather than wallow in negative thoughts, my preferred reaction is to learn as much as possible, look at the positives, and adapt strategies accordingly.

There have been some fairly big advancements in “Brand Registry” which include:

  • Your brand name must have an active registered trademark
  • Brand Registry will now have its own user interface and have a separate login to Seller Central.
  • For brands previously registered, Amazon recommends reapplying for Brand Registry for each individual brand, taking into account the new trademark requirement.

Amazon Brand Registry

 

Other requirements which remain largely unchanged include:

  • Images of the brand’s logo.
  • Images of products and packaging that carry the trademarked brand name. If the product is not branded, the packaging must be branded.
  • A list of product categories (e.g., apparel, sporting goods, electronics) in which the brand should be listed.
  • A list of countries where the brand’s products are manufactured and distributed.
  • A website for your brand and product and brand images
  • An official email address for your brand/business

 

How Does This Affect Private Label Sellers: Pros and Cons

So the big elephant in the room here – Private Label sellers requiring Brand Registry must now have a registered trademark.

This is a foray into a whole new area for many sellers who have not yet registered a Trademark. Let’s take a look at some Pros and Cons right off the bat:

Pros:

  • Having a Trademark helps you protect your brand
  • The Brand Registry is being improved and Amazon is adding more ways to protect you as sellers from counterfeits and hijacking
  • New proprietary tools are being added such as, “text and image search, predictive automation based on your reports of suspected intellectual property rights violations, and increased authority over product listings with your brand name.”
  • The rumor mill is buzzing with very interesting new features for Brand Registered sellers, including the ability to upload custom videos to your product page, have a unique Amazon URL and more customizable product details!  Some of these were hinted at Amazon’s Boost Conference.

Cons:

  • You must go through the process of getting a registered Trademark which takes time and has associated costs
  • For full protection under the new Brand Registry, you need to re-enroll existing brands that were registered under the old system
  • For new product launches, you may not be willing to invest in a Trademark until the product is selling successfully (more ideas on how to combat this later)

As you can see, there are significant points on both sides. As I said, I like to focus on the positives. The straight and narrow of it is that for Private Label sellers looking to build a legitimate and growing business, Brand Registry is the way to go.

It is going to require some extra steps and resources but the benefits of this are going to be worth it. Having the most protection you can get for your brand is super important, but the added customizations you will be able to make to your listings are the icing on the cake.

 

A Peek Inside Brand Registry

So far the new Brand Registry experience appears to be in “beta”. Or at the very least, a lot of the rumored features are yet to be added. However, you can see some initial improvements straight away.

First of all, it’s in a different place, so you don’t login to Seller Central to access it. If you are logging in for the first time, you can use your existing username and password to get started at this page.

Welcome to brand registry 2.0

 

Pictured above, you can see your registered brands in the panel on the left hand side, which you could never see before in the old Brand Registry.

One really cool feature is that you can search for violations of your brand, by product name, ASIN, brand name, images or even keywords:

Find Items to Report on Amazon Brand Registry

 

Here’s an example of a search for “Jungle Stix”:

Jungle Stix brand registry violations

 

We can see here that the second and fourth listings could be illegally using a Jungle Stix trademark, so this can be easily reported to Amazon using this new feature.

 

Trademarking – How It Works

 

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. – USPTO

 

trademarks explained for private label sellers

 

It’s a pretty simple concept and it’s actually much easier to obtain than you might imagine.

For our latest case study product, the Jungle Snugs baby hooded towels, Greg has filed for a Trademark with trademarkengine.com for $349. This includes the filing fee, the website is very easy to use and the whole process was completed in under 10 minutes. We will report back on the results, but so far this has been a good experience and it was cheaper than other alternatives.

Your application will still be filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

What you will need to register your Trademark:

  • A legal business, or you can register as an individual with an EIN code if you are just starting out and haven’t registered an LLC yet
  • A logo or mark that you want to use
  • A full legal name and address of the owner (seller)
  • A copy of the product as an example that shows how you are using your mark in commerce – this could be a picture of your product
  • The date you first started using your logo or mark or shared it anywhere
  • Which International Class you plan to use (trademarkengine.com gives you a dropdown to select your International Class)

 

Further Tips Before Filing For A Trademark

Think about how easy your brand will be to Trademark. In fact, if you are just launching a new branded product, you may want to think about this ahead of time to ensure any potential Trademark you might require will get through. Here’s some rough guidelines:

Avoid names that will be difficult to trademark, for example generic names (e.g. The Garlic Press Company), geographical names (e.g. West Coast Garlic Press) or anything too descriptive (e.g. The Best Garlic Press). These are common examples that often won’t get through.

Ensure you are happy with your logo before you submit your application – you could find someone to help with design on websites like Upwork or Freeeup.

Fill in your application with as much detail as possible and if there are any reservations about why your Trademark might not get registered then it’s usually best to disclaim this, or choose a safer brand name!

 

What If I Don’t Want To File Multiple Trademarks?

If you are wanting to avoid applying for (and paying for) several Trademarks for all of your products, there is a workaround.

Instead of using your individual product names as the brand name, you could instead use more of an open-ended brand name, which only needs to appear on your packaging somewhere to allow you to use this as a trademark.

For example, instead of applying for trademarks for Jungle Stix and Jungle Snugs, we could have instead applied for a trademark for Jungle Creations, and then packaged the products as “Jungle Stix by Jungle Creations” and so on.

If you are worried about intellectual property, or someone actually stealing your product names, then in order to get legal protection you would need to file for separate registered trademarks. But if you are just wanting to get your entire product range into the Brand Registry, then using an open-ended brand name and getting one Trademark may be the best route for you.

 

Tips for International Sellers

When it comes to selling internationally, the trademark process becomes a little bit conflated. First of all there is the “Madrid system” which basically means there is a treaty whereby a trademark in one territory then it can be extended to other territories.

If this sounds too good to be true, it probably is. As far as I am aware, if you wanted to pursue legal action for your trademark in a different territory to where it was registered then it would be more complex, costly and time-consuming.

There is also the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which allows you to register a trademark internationally, as well as a European Union IPO office.

 

WIPO international trademarks

 

If you are selling in two marketplaces, for example the US and Europe, then you may want to consider which type of trademark(s) to get.

The UK Amazon Brand Registry page, for example, states that you need:

“Please note, we currently only accept fully-registered word marks that have been issued by national government trade mark offices in FranceGermany, ItalySpain, and the United Kingdom, or by the European Union Intellectual Property Office.”

This means you would need a UK or EU trademark to access the UK Brand Registry. Conversely, On the US Brand Registry page, it now states:

Please note, we currently only accept active word marks that have been issued by government patent and trademark offices in the United StatesCanadaMexicoIndiaJapanFrance, GermanyItalySpain, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Updates to the Brand Registry eligibility criteria will be posted to this page.

This may or may not change in the future, but as it stands, if you are considering becoming an international seller, then it may be cheaper and easier to just apply for one Trademark in Europe, which would allow you to apply for Brand Registry in the US, as well as the next two biggest marketplaces, the UK and Germany.

However, be warned that doing it this way does not necessarily mean you are fully protected legally across these marketplaces (if you wanted to pursue legal action). However, for most FBA sellers, who are running small to medium sized businesses, and are just seeking to enter Brand Registry to get access to the benefits, this is probably more suitable.

Plus, having Brand Registry access does at least give you some protection in that Amazon are more likely to help you get any counterfeit products or listings taken down.

 

The ™ and the ® symbol

Here’s a fun fact: you can use the ™ symbol right now, even before you file for a Trademark, so long as you own the brand name and it’s not already in use. This symbol just means you have a non-registered mark.

Once you get a registered Trademark and a certificate to prove it, you can then use the ® symbol!

 

What About Barcodes?

As you may know, you will need some sort of GTIN (Global Trade Identification Number), such as a UPC code, in order to generate an FNSKU (an Amazon specific Fulfillment Network SKU), which you are required to print on all of your product packaging for the Amazon Fulfillment Centre.

For about a year now, Amazon has stated that your UPC codes must be GS1 Registered, which is the authoritative source for barcodes, for ecommerce. If you want to play by the rule book, then this is the way to go, but it’s the most expensive option.

You can still purchase UPC codes from Third Party sources at a fraction of the price, but you must be aware that this is technically against Amazon’s TOS. Many sellers are still doing this and not running into difficulty. But there’s nothing to say Amazon won’t start to clamp down on this in the future.

Having said that, this is still one method you could use to get your product out there and start generating sales, and then seek to go through the Brand Registry process when you are able.

 

GTIN Exemptions

In relation to UPC codes and GS1, there is another way around. Amazon has a GTIN exemption feature where you can apply to get your product listed without any form of GTIN Identifier.

In order to request a GTIN exemption, your product must not be on Amazon’s list of brands, and you must apply with the following information:

  1. A support letter from the brand owner, manufacturer or publisher to prove that a GTIN cannot be provided, OR,
  2. A list of sample products for review

 

Here’s the advice for submitting a list of sample products to review:

GTIN exemption advice

In our experience, getting a GTIN exemption isn’t common, so be prepared for this. If you have any tips of getting GTIN exemption or have any personal experience of getting approved, we’d love to hear your comments!

 

Private Label Product Launch Advice For Brand Registry

OK so with all of the above taken into consideration, what should your next steps be for your private label product?

Here’s a few scenarios and some ideas for how you could proceed…

1. Already a Private Label Seller?

Whether you had Brand Registry before or not, consider it. Also consider getting a registered Trademark if you haven’t already. This will allow you to move forward with the advancements Amazon are making, ensure you are protected and open up a host of listing opportunities.

2. Serious about selling on Amazon and growing a large company?

Get a Trademark from one of the lower cost sources and benefit from the advantages of doing so. It will require some upfront work and cost, but it will be worth it. Even if you are just starting out, you could start this process from day one. It all depends if you are ready for the investment!

3. Just starting out and I don’t want to register a Trademark

First try and get a GTIN exemption. If this doesn’t work out for you then you have the option to get a non-GS1 barcode from a Third Party source. This is still a method that people are using and not being penalized for. However, it is against Amazon’s TOS, so you have been warned. You could go for this method and “test” your new product on the market. Then go through the Trademark registration and Brand Registry process when your product is successful.

4. An international seller or planning to expand your Amazon business into new marketplaces

If you are a large seller, selling products in several marketplaces, then the best option would be to get an international Trademark, or apply for Trademarks in the specific territories you are selling in. But if you are currently doing really well in one marketplace, for example, the US, then start there. Finally, if you want to test the waters in a new marketplace, then you could apply the same logic in point 3 above. If it goes well, you can get a Trademark in that territory and get Brand Registry.

 

In a nutshell…

It very much comes down to how protected you want to be, how serious you are about building a profitable and scalable business and how risk-averse you want to be.

Experienced Amazon seller and fellow JS team member Lenny recently covered a few relevant questions about Brand Registry and GTIN exemptions in episode #22 of Ask Jungle Scout, and in episode #23 he discusses trademarks!

Conclusion

To finalize this update on Brand Registry my closing thoughts are that this is a stepping stone towards improving both the shopping experience on Amazon and improving the level of security and options sellers have.

It will prevent fraudulent and counterfeit products making their way to the Amazon marketplace, available for shoppers to buy, which is a negative experience for consumers and sellers alike.

Not only that, it looks like there are some exciting new features on the horizon for Brand Registered sellers. This will give even more ways to set yourself ahead of the competition in a growing market.

It has added a level of complexity. But these are processes that most other e-commerce businesses have been working to for years. If you’re serious about building a successful private label business that will stand the test of time, then this is part and parcel of getting yourself protected as the owner of your very own kick-ass brand!

 

What are your thoughts on Brand Registry? Let us know in the comments if you have started the process yet. Or have decided to go for a Trademark on your product.

107 comments on “Navigating The New Amazon Brand Registry

    1. Hi Jill,

      Yes, you will have to apply for a separate brand registry in Canada.

      But if you are listing on Amazon.com, you can transfer all your listings data, A+ content as well, to the .ca listing.

  1. thank you for this big information. making sure our brand is already registered is our responsibility. but now to register a brand is not really hard. some agency is out there. thank you

  2. Would there be a lot of extra work involved in applying for Brand Registry and using it with an existing inventory of products? So, if I added 100 products today, for example, and then got a trademark in two months and then applied for the Brand registry, am I creating a lot more work for myself? Thanks!

  3. I have 2 companies: X and Y.
    X is registred owner of private label brand “Brand”. Its goods are manufactured in China. Factories isn’t owned by X or Y.
    X issued letter of authorization for Y to sell on Amazon under “Brand”. Y is registred as seller on Amazon and have ASINs with “Brand” printed on goods, and its written on listing “By Gemlux”.

    When enrolling in brand registry, how should we answer those question:
    Does your brand manufacture products?
    Does your brand sell to distributors? (X is selling to distributors in Russia under “Brand”)
    Do your distributors sell on Amazon? (Here is the question: does Y considered distributor in this case? Y is only one distributor to sell on Amazon)
    Does your brand license trademarks to others who manufacture products associated with your intellectual property?
    Do your licensees sell on Amazon?

  4. Hi
    I am going to register my brand on Amazon canada and i will be the sole manufacturer of my products. I want to know if its better to apply for exemption of GTIN or should i preferably have some sort of Product Identifier for my products? I was hoping to save the cost to buy insanely expensive UPC codes. Is there any other way to get product identifiers for my brand without having to purchase UPC? Also, what is the best practice for Registered Brand Owners to do in such cases?

    1. Amar,

      Personally, I’m a big proponent of product identifiers. Sure there’s a little cost, but it makes life much easier as a seller.

      And UPCs aren’t too bad through gs1. It’s $250 for 10, or $25 for each. By each I mean the code itself. You can print it infinite times after you own it.

      If you plan to go through RBO, you should probably get a UPC.

  5. Can you tell me why you would have a registered agent under the brand registry. We own a brand and have it trademarked and registered with amazon’s brand register. Why would we need a registered agent? What would they do for us. Do we need to authorize in any way for someone else to sell our brand on amazon? What is a registered seller? I came across this term in one of your replies. Does registered seller simply mean a seller on Amazon or can they be specially be registered on Amazon with the owner/manufacturer of the product to sell on Amazon?

  6. If you have a successful listing with a barcode from a non GS1 website and want to register for a trademark/brand registry with no issues, would you have to start from scratch and create a new product listing or can you change the barcode on your current listing?

    1. Hey T,

      Since we started to caution sellers against buying UPC codes from anyone other than GS1, we haven’t heard if any UPC codes from third-party sellers have affected brand registry applications. If you’re already successfully setup on a listing, you can apply with that and then you’ll have the option to change the barcode to a unique identifier once you’re in the brand registry. It’s worth a shot – let us know how it goes!

  7. Hey guys, I really need your help. If I already have my logo and business name and it is in the process to get approved which I don’t know how long it might take and even I might get denied, do i still can order products with my brand name and logo on products and ship them to amazon for sale without brand registry and once I get approved by USPTO I can apply for brand registry with amazon. I want to start selling as soon as possible but with obeying all the rules and terms.I appreciate your help

    1. Hey Seville,

      A lot of sellers start out this way. You can create your item and product listing on Amazon and start selling before you get your registered Trademark, just make sure you follow the brand registry rules once you’re in – you may need to update the logo on your products. For now, you can have the brand name/logo on your product, with or without the ® symbol if the trademark is pending, you just can use the ™ symbol until your trademark is officially registered.

      Hope that answers your questions!
      Melissa

  8. You stated:
    “.. you can use the ™ symbol right now, even before you file for a Trademark, so long as you own the brand name and it’s not already in use.”

    What do you mean “own”? Isn’t getting a Trademark on the name “owning” it? So how else can you own it if you haven’t got the Trademark yet?

    1. That’s probably a mistatement, but if you can prove beyond reasonable doubt that you created the brand (like, you own the domain name, etc) and have the paperwork filed, it’s more or less yours.

      The trademark process can take a while, so it’s best to “reserve your seat” so to speak.

  9. Hello,

    I’m late to this conversation. We are currently waiting for our trademark to apply for Brand Registry. Would I be right in believing that we can get GTIN exemption on all our ‘branded’ products then and it’s easier to apply then rather than applying now for non-branded products?

  10. If you acquire a trademark and brand registry for one of your products, does this mean you automatically get brand registry for all your products (even though the others are not trademarked)?

    1. So long as it’s under the same brand, yes. All you do is add the ASIN to the list of BR products. And make sure that the brand in your inventory management is the same as the registered brand.

  11. Heya Scouts,

    Can you please tell me what route do I need to take to prevent other sellers latching on to my Brand listings. I have a registered Trademark for the Brand but as per Amazon policy “enforcing Trademark is between seller and manufacturer” and Amazon does not take partake in this.

    To put it another way, I have been selling on Amazon for about 18 months now and have build my own product line from scratch. It means I have created my own designs, have them manufactured and sold them on amazon, quite successfully I may add. Recently my Brand Trademark got registered and I enrolled for Brand Registry hoping that I would have control over who gets to list under my products and who does not.

    But now after consuming so much information from your blogs and seller forums I have come to conclusion Brand Registry does not do that at all. My question how can I do that, that I there is a “Request Approval” button instead of “List Yours” when someone tries to list through “Add a Product” page. I want to get a notification every time a seller lists under my brand listings with me having the freedom to grant or deny the approval request. I also understand that Amazon has implemented such processes for Big brands like Apple et. al. but I also know for a fact that there are private label brands on Amazon where this has been implemented too.

    Can you please share your thoughts on this.

    And my apologies for making this a long read, I just wanted to ensure I put in everything for you folks to understand and respond better.

  12. Thank you for such great info! I am just starting out and really concerned about making sure I get all the information correct. Some of my questions were asked/answered by other commenters, and it seems that if I am just starting out it is advised that I get started selling and apply for BR once my product is up and profitable. If I do not go through trademarking and brand registering right off the bat, is it correct that only the FNSKU is required on my package? Regarding your article above, I would consider myself in this camp:

    “3. Just starting out and I don’t want to register a Trademark

    First try and get a GTIN exemption. If this doesn’t work out for you then you have the option to get a non-GS1 barcode from a Third Party source. This is still a method that people are using and not being penalized for. However, it is against Amazon’s TOS, so you have been warned. You could go for this method and “test” your new product on the market. Then go through the Trademark registration and Brand Registry process when your product is successful.”

    Can I get a GS1 barcode in compliance with the Amazon tos without having a BR? I do not mind spending the money to do this to stay within the tos, but I don’t want to create a BR and apply for a trademark on my first product? Thank you for all your great answers and advice.

  13. Hello, thank you for the great article. I have a question about GTIN numbers: do I need such barcodes if I’m not using Amazon FBA or amazon fulfillment centres but sending using my own distribution centre?

    Thank you in advance for your reply!

    Best,
    Bastien

  14. Hi Kym,

    I want to start selling a product from a Brand that already exists on Amazon. This BRand has many different products already selling on Amazon.

    That product do not exist as such. It has its own EAN code and no one is selling it but me.

    I am buying this product directly from the producer. But I can not list the product under that Brand on Amazon.

    What am I supposed to do?

    Thank you

    1. Hey Dajk,

      It sounds like the brand you’re interested in selling is “brand-gated” meaning that only certified sellers can sell the product. Examples include: Apple, Beats by Dre, Lego, etc. You might try contact the brand directly, or applying via Amazon’s website.

  15. Hi there, I want to get brand registered so I can stop hijackers from coming onto my listings. I plan to add more products in different categories to my store and was just wondering, when selecting categories for the products(when applying for the brand registry) can we add categories that we plan to sell in? or must stick with the categories that we are already selling in? If we just apply for the categories we sell in and get approved, and eventually sell a product in a different category that we did not apply for, do we still get the brand registry benefits of denying hijackers from those listings and the other pros from brand registry?

    1. Hey Peter,

      As far as I know, as long as your product is under the brand, it doesn’t matter what category its in. At least that’s the way it worked when I had my brands registered.

  16. I’ve been selling on Amazon with great success with a top ranked product. Then they changed the rules. I got to the part of the “new” brand registration that asks for my REGISTRATION # which I don’t have even thought we have been using our Trademark for 8 years (you do not have to register a trademark for it to be protected…you just have to prove you used it first and then put a TM next to it opposed to a USPTO R). So, I got to that part, can’t go any further. Then I went to login into seller central and I can’t. I can’t view my inventory, sales and so on like before. Am I out of business? I think that is why not depending on the likes of Amazon when your livelihood can be jeopardized by one little change. I should have known better…thankfully I did not take down my eCommerce site as I was going to because I was killing it on Amazon.

  17. Hi Kym, After reading all of the above content, I think what I thought I knew I actually am not sure of! I have a business name, logo, have created a product (in China), and is ready to go to production. The next steps I know are the UPC code, setting it up in my seller account, and getting the labeling info on the product before it ships. As a newly developed product, and my first product on Amazon, can I start selling it right away? Is it best to protect it from copycats by going the trademark route? Or as I see it, the trademark only protects the name and logo, correct? Do I need a website for just the one product to Brand Register it? After all the development and production work I am unsure the best and most cost effective route to go next…

  18. Hi Kym

    Thanks for this great article. Good to see people are still reading it and commenting 9 months on.

    I had a couple of questions:
    1) You mentioned that to get a trademark you need to be legal business, if my business is a legal business in Vietnam is that okay when applying for a trademark in the US?
    2) From Amazon’s point of view, does it matter if your website or business email address doesn’t exactly match the trademark? ie your registered trademark is ABC Collective, whereas your website is http://www.abcsuppliers.com?

    Many thanks
    Cameron

    1. Thanks Cameron, glad to hear you are enjoying our content.

      Hmm I am not too sure about the first question – I think it might be more to do with where you sell your goods (i.e. in the US). What you could do is contact a company like the one we used for the MDCS products (trademark engine) and ask them to advise you on your application. In your case it would probably be beneficial to use a company like this to help you out.

      Second of all, The website doesn’t need to match as far as Amazon is concerned – it just puts you in a good position for applying for Brand Registry to have an online presence for your product(s). But you could have a trademark for Jungle Stix and your business website be bbqaccessories.com or something, for example.

      Finally, make sure you check out our latest post on this topic here: https://www.junglescout.com/blog/trademarks-for-amazon-sellers/

      Hope this helps!
      Kym

  19. We are a registered seller on amazon and already have re-registered our brand. If another seller wants to sell our brand of products, do they need to be added or imported into our company’s (amazon) brand registry? Is that possible? I have not seen a user interface for that. If it is possible, then is it recommended?

    1. Hey Kball,

      I’m not sure what you mean. Do you mean you want to prevent other sellers from selling, or you want to have someone else (maybe a distributor) on your listing?

  20. Hi — quick question for the community:

    I am frustrated with Brand Registry. They say all of my products must have the brand name on them. However, my brand name is VivaSistah. But I sell four different lines of clothing which have different names. I don’t want to put “vivasistah” on every item of clothing especially since I sell baby onesies and tshirts for adults. Do you think Amazon will allow me to sell using the GTIN exemption — presumably while I await approval of trademarks on my different clothing lines which will take some time.

    1. Hey Lisa,

      Interesting predicament. Yes, Amazon wants to see the brand on everything. So in some cases, using the “generic” name as your TM might not work, especially if you have multiple brands that aren’t inter-related. Try the GTIN exemption, and if that doesn’t work, you might consider doing seller-fulfilled prime and using a third-party fulfillment company (a lot of times, you can actually save money going with a 3rd party vs Amazon FBA)

  21. Hi Kym,

    Can you clarify that through the Madrid Protocol I could go through brand registry in the US, EU and UK if i bought those countries, without needed locally issued trademarks from the USPTO.

    my understanding is that a successful madrid protocol application would mean I therefore have a USPTO trademark?

    Thanks again,

    Rupert

    1. Hey Rupert,

      I think the Madrid protocol is more applicable to if you ever wanted to pursue legal action for your trademark in different countries. If a worldwide trademark is important to you, then there is also the WIPO (world intellectual property organization).

      However, for the purposes of just applying for Brand Registry in different Amazon marketplaces, it’s less of a worry. According to Amazon’s page for Europe Brand Registry, you do need a trademark from a European country or the EU IPO office. For the US Brand Registry, you can enter with a US or a EU trademark. So at the moment, if you know you want to enter in the US and in Europe, it may make more sense to get a European trademark.

      Hope that helps!
      Kym

  22. When filling the trademark registration I noticed you have to specify an item class. You can have more than one, but there is an extra fee for each addition. I wonder how this would affect your idea of having a generic trademark for a wide range of items. Would Amazon care if lets say you registered a trademark for ‘textiles’ but now want to sell an item from a different class? Would they enforce the trademark class limitation?

    1. Good point Paul – I’m not sure as I haven’t tried this myself. You certainly do have to pick an item class for your application.

      I am not sure if Amazon check your registered trademark number against the item class and compare to your product category when applying for Brand Registry. Maybe someone else will have tried this and be able to testify.

      You could probably submit applications for a few item classes to cover your range of product categories. I’m not sure what the extra fees are, but if this is cheaper than doing several different trademarks in their entirety then that’s better than a alternative.

      We’re currently doing more research into this process (and getting our case study products into the Brand Registry, too). So keep an eye out for future content on this topic!

      Many thanks,
      Kym

  23. Hi Kym,

    First off, I’d like to thank you for all you do for everyone. I have created a logo for my legal company name, and like the idea of trademarking just this. I’m thinking of getting just my logo trademarked and going with e.g. generic product by xyz Creations®. I plan to have around 10 PL products or so using this method. As long as I have this on the packaging, would this work for brand registry? Or should it be on the product itself?

    Thank you!

    1. Hey Peter,

      I haven’t tried it myself but I have heard that some sellers decide to use a generic wordmark for their trademark registration so that they can enter all of their products into the brand registry using one trademark.

      From what I have seen, this should work in theory – but it does mean that your registered trademark itself won’t hold as much value if you ever wanted to pursue legal action. But as a ‘hack’ to get into the Brand Registry, this is what many sellers have told us they prefer to do.

      I do know that you have to show your trademarked name or logo on your packaging *and* the product itself when you apply for an individual product to enter the brand registry. One way you could get around this is to give each product a name and then add “by xyz creations®”. I think you just need to be smart about adding your product name and the trademarked company brand name to your products.

      I’d also love to hear from other sellers if they have had much luck doing this?

      Hope this helps,
      Kym

  24. I am currently brand registered and have all of the requirements for 2.0 except for packaging since I only sell my own products online. Does one have to show an image of EACH product with packaging that we sell on Amazon (currently 11)?

    1. Hey Jim,

      Awesome – you have a registered trademark already?

      From applying for the new Brand Registry myself I found that they are looking for images of:

      – The product itself
      – An image showing the brand name / logo ON the product (I had an application rejected because I forgot this one)
      – The packaging

      I’m not sure if it would be rejected without an image of packaging. You could always just try it, they will email you back to tell you why your application is rejected if that’s the case.

      Hope this helps!
      Kym

  25. Hi Kym,

    This is great, thank you so much for the very detailed answers. I think I know what I’m doing now 🙂

    I am currently working with someone who specialises in Brand names, Logo’s etc. and they are in the process of coming up with a company/brand name for me that is not currently Trademarked, so I should be ok on that front.

    Thank you! I am currently working my way through the MDCS Europe episodes. I am currently on ep 4 “Finding a good supplier”.

    Thanks again for all your help! 🙂

    Stephen

  26. Hi Kym,

    Thanks for the warm welcome and quick reply 🙂

    That’s great! I think, I understand all that.

    Just to be sure, can you confirm my understanding below please?

    You’re saying I should focus on sourcing and finding a good product to sell first. Then once I have found one, work with the manufacturer to get my brand, logo and name applied to it (and any changes/improvements I want to make to the product) and get it shipped to me for selling. Then start selling it on Amazon, “as is”, until I generate enough sales/rank/revenue to put the brand and product through the Trademark process.

    Then once I have the product Trademarked in the UK/EU, I can then go through the Amazon Brand Registry process?

    Is that allowed on Amazon? To sell my own branded product that isn’t Trademarked or Brand Registered?

    I look forward to hearing from you 🙂

    Many Thanks,
    Stephen

    1. Hey Stephen,

      No problem – sounds like you have got a solid understanding there.

      It’s totally fine to sell as a private label seller without Brand Registry and a Trademark. In fact, you don’t ever have to get either of those things if you don’t want to (but serious sellers should definitely consider it).

      It’s actually going to be more difficult to apply for a trademark before you even have a product to sell, so it makes sense in that regard, too.

      One thing I would advise you research ahead of time is the brand name you decide to use. It wouldn’t be very fun if later down the line you realize that your wordmark is already taken, meaning you either cannot get a registered Trademark, or you have to rebrand and change your product and packaging.

      But yes, absolutely start with product research. Find a good opportunity, work in sourcing and importing it and just get started. If you are looking to launch in Europe I would advise you give our Million Dollar Case Study: Europe a run through. It covers every step of the journey!

      Many thanks,
      Kym

  27. Hi Kym,

    Great article!

    I am very new to the whole Amazon FBA scene and plan to get setup in the next few weeks, but I just want to make sure I have all potential costs & road blocks covered first.

    I noticed in this article that when you were explaining the Amazon requirements for Brand Registry, you said that Amazon need you to have:

    “A website for your brand and product and brand images”.

    Does this mean I will need to get myself setup with a website for my company before selling a Trademarked product? – I was planning on Trademarking the company name and then using your suggestion of just having “Item name” by “Trademarked Company Name”.

    Or have I gotten confused between Trademark and Brand Registry?

    I am trying to figure out what the minimum reqs are for me to get this up and running to begin with and then I can build the rest up overtime as revenue comes in. If I need to factor in setting up a website etc. before I can launch my first product, this will add additional cost and delay me significantly.

    Many Thanks,
    Stephen

    1. Hey Stephen,

      Welcome to the community 🙂
      It’s great that you are thinking ahead like this! Here’s some pointers for you:

      – You don’t need to enter Brand Registry to sell your product. In fact, because getting a Trademark registered (which is now a requirement) can take several months, it’s advised that you go ahead and sell without BR. This means you can start to generate sales, build your rank, brand and reviews. Then later you can apply for BR and this will simply add another arrow to your bow 😉

      – You don’t need a website to register a trademark as far as I know… but your Wordmark needs to be in the public domain (e.g. examples of your brand name on your products). A website would also be useful to apply for a Trademark, but I don’t think it’s entirely necessary.

      – A website is not a requirement to apply for Brand Registry, either. Though, it does state that if you don’t provide it then it may prevent your application from being approved. So probably best to create one, even if it’s a simple one pager. Here’s some of our websites which have been built in WordPress using an affordable theme and set up in a few hours: http://www.junglestix.com & http://www.junglesnugs.com

      Overall, I would advise that you focus on product research and finding a solid opportunity first, then importing it and selling it on Amazon. You can work on a website and a Trademark once you have your business up and running. In fact, it will make it much easier to set up a website and apply for a Trademark having done this (speaking from experience).

      Hope this helps!
      Kym

  28. Hi Kym

    Thanks for all the great info and i’m sorry if this has been covered but i haven’t quite nailed it in my head yet.

    I’m based in Australia and have registered my business name here but want to understand if i also need to register/trademark my name in the USA to sell on Amazon? Secondly, what if another company already has a trademark on the same name as me? And does it make a difference we have the same name but sell in different industries/categories?

    thanks so much in advance and look forward to hearing back!

    1. Hey Christy,

      No problem these are all great questions.

      If you are selling in the US and want to enter the US Brand Registry then you will need to have a registered trademark from a country that is accepted in the US Brand Registry. They state which countries these are on this page. Australia is not on there, so you might want to go for a US Trademark.

      This is the reason why you need to do your research before applying for a trademark (which costs money, and takes a long time), because if there is already a registered trademark in this name then you will waste your time and money. I am no expert in trademark laws, and I am not sure how often they let them through if in a different category. If it was me, I would use a trademark that I know to the best of my ability is not already in use.

      There may be a few other options for you if your product is already branded and selling in the US:

      – Amazon US Brand Registry accepts trademarks from Europe too. If your trademark is not registered in Europe then maybe this would get approved, I’m not sure if this is the case but worth looking in to. Plus this would mean you could also sell in Europe in future and enter brand registry there.

      – You could come up with a new brand name, and trademark that. This would likely mean changing your product packaging though. For example, if we wanted to get a trademark for “Jungle Creations”, for our products Jungle Stix and Jungle Snugs, then we could brand them as “Jungle Stix, by Jungle Creations” on the product.

      Hope this helps! Once again I am not a trademark expert, but this should give you some ideas to investigate further.

      Many thanks,
      Kym

  29. Hi Kym,

    Thank you for all of this great content! I am brand new to all of this and have been watching the “$1 Million Dollar Case Study Step by Step.” For the Jungle Snugs, this is a private label product. So although this may not be relevant, a quick question: Can I choose NOT to private label a product and just find a good-selling, non-competitive product and use the packaging provided by the manufacturer? Are people making money doing this? It seems like the process would be alot easier. I understand the pros to private labeling and building a brand. But can I make money without doing private label?

    1. Hey Trisha,

      Great question and the answer is yes. This Amazon business model is known as ‘wholesale”. This involves becoming a wholesaler for existing brands, buying their products, and selling them on Amazon, usually using an existing Amazon listing. The main notable difference when you do this is that you will often be competing for the buy box with other sellers. That is, other sellers are selling the same product on the same listing and the sales are divided up between you. They won’t be divided equally either, the buy box is rotated by Amazon algorithms depending on price, reviews, rank, sales velocity and other factors.

      It’s still a viable business model and you can read more about it on our blog here.

      Hope this helps 🙂

      Kym

  30. Hi guys.
    Thanks for sharing all your experience.
    I’ve gone through the topic and still have couple of questions.
    I am currently on stage to order goods from manufacturer, but did not set an account with amazon yet which I planned to do in a while. Suddenly I have stumbled upon the topic of new regulation from Amazon, which I did not have plan for. Hence in this stage, could you tell me can I buy a upc codes from resource that Mark has mentioned in MDSC # 7, I forgot the name, as I remember they are already registered with gs 1 and use them as mentioned on the video? Simultaneously apply for trademark. Could you specify what features I will not access to before brand registering?

    Thank you!!!

    1. Hey Amir,

      Congrats on getting started so far. It sounds like you are on the right track.

      You can either get a UPC (barcode) from GS1, which is the official but more expensive route. Alternatively, you can purchase UPC codes from a third party as explained in this article.

      If you intend to get brand registry then I advise you follow the guidance in this article and start ASAP. Trademark registration can take several months to come through, and you cannot apply for Brand Registry until your Trademark is registered. But don’t let that stop you launching a product – we still launch products whilst this is in process and get those sales coming in.

      Once you are brand registered you will get access to greater brand security (against hijackers and copycats), as well as cool features for your product listing such as enhanced brand content, and adding video.

      Hope this helps,
      Kym

  31. Hello,

    Anyone from Australia? i would like some tips on where to start with all the legalities and tax.

    Thanks,

    Francesca

  32. Your blog is the most through I have found and Kym has done pretty dang good at fielding the questions which leads me to believe you have probably got a “working knowledge” of the 2.0 “site” so let me ask you this….. Am I missing something? Other than a link to IP infringement forms and a special sign in page that dupes you into thinking something of worth will be in store for you, there is basically no content for brand registered sellers. I suppose the search box is handy if you want to search by image but other than that I don’t really “get it” in a way that makes me anything but disappointed.

    On a side note to the comment above of Marks…it IS insane, welcome to Amazon!

  33. So as a new seller interested in private labeling, the option for private labeling is still there without brand registry. i didnt wont to order private label items and cant sell them because of them not being registered

    1. Hey Melissa, yes you can sell a private label without brand registry, however you will not have access to the Enhanced Brand Content features without registring your brand with Amazon.

    1. Hey Trung,

      We had some slight issues at first which they helped us resolve. Right now we are still waiting for the trademark to become registered, but this is more because it’s a slow process full stop, rather than trademarkengine doing a bad job.

      But if you find any other good services for trademarks do let us know!

      Kym

  34. Hi,

    Is it possible to apply for brand registry for a product that I presently sell as a private label and whose name will be soon trademarked even if the same product is sold on amazon.com by several other sellers such as my manufacturer but under different names? Thank you so much.

    1. Hi Narcis,

      If I understand your question, then yes that sounds correct in theory.

      If you are a private label seller managing your own product listing, and you intend to get your own product brand name trademarked, then once your trademark is registered you can apply for brand registry.

      It doesn’t matter if other sellers also sell products similar to yours so long as they are branded differently, and so long as your intended trademark does not infringe on any other trademarks or intellectual property.

      A trademark is specifically concerned with a mark, brand name or logo, not the design of the product itself. For example, we will have the trademark for Jungle Stix, and even though other sellers also sell bamboo marshmallow sticks, it is our brand name we are interested in trademarking and entering into the Brand Registry.

      Thanks for reading,
      Kym

  35. Hello all,

    Just so I understand this right I wanna ask a question that has probably been answered and I’m sorry for that. My understanding is as a new private label seller I have only a couple of options dealing with UPC. I can either buy a cheap non GS1 upc and hope I dont get in trouble.I can file for a trademark which from what I have looked up can take 6-12 months to get then file for brand registry and then sell my products.I could file for GTIN exemption which in my case will not work anyway. So it seems so insane that if your just gonna use the FNSKU as the identifier why Amazon cares. Anyway thank all you guys for all the information and videos you provide. They have been an invaluable source of information for me. Looking forward to hearing how long it takes you all to get the Trademark. I know Trademark is the way to go and I think it will only help all PL sellers. Have a good day

    1. Hey Mark,

      Sounds like you got the general idea of this topic right on here! In my experience, most sellers that are using non GS1 barcodes are doing so without any issue. But it’s totally on you to make that decision and take that risk.

      Brand registry is the way to go if you are serious about your product(s), as you will get access to a lot of features and more brand protection. Worth considering!

      Thanks for reading 🙂

      1. Hi Kym!

        To piggyback off Mark’s comment above, which was similarly going to be my question, I wanted to ask – let’s say I am relying on non-GS1 UPC labels now, but have a pending trademark. Am I in the clear once I get the trademark and get enrolled in the Brand Registry? Will that allow me to switch over to FNSKUs and ditch the old UPC labels?

        Best,
        C

  36. Hi Scouters!
    Thank you for all your amazing content. You are like the wikipedia of FBA selling!
    I am excited about the possibility of becoming a private seller. I have watched the case study #2 and it has motivated me to get started.
    However, I feel very confused and my enthusiasm has somewhat been halted as I don’t where to begin.
    I thought the first step would be to find a product to sell.
    Should I now start with thinking of a business name to sell my products under? After that trademark my company to sell my products under?
    Thank you so much for any advice you can give.
    Much love,
    Rose

    1. Hey Rose,

      Thank you so much, glad you enjoy our content. We enjoy putting it together 🙂

      My best advice is to keep following alongside us and take it one step at a time, as you will know we are giving out homework each week. You definitely need to find a product so if you haven’t got to that stage yet keep on at it!

      We will be covering branding and the new brand registry (trademarking) in the case study too. If you wanted to start thinking of a generic brand name to sell your products under, that’s great and forward thinking. But I would definitely recommend getting your first product idea under wraps!

      Thanks for watching,
      Kym

  37. Great content guys! Thank you.

    Just wanted to clarify though – as a new seller, would I need to get on brand registry to start selling my private label products on Amazon? In other words, can I still start selling my product, and once I have my trademark – then apply for the brand registry?

    Thanks in advance.

      1. Hi Gen,

        As a new fba seller, how do I load my products into seller central, if my Trademark is not registered yet (only been granted a serial number) by USPTO?

        Thanks for this info, its making the journey a great deal more navigable.

        Mike

        1. Hey Mike,

          You can still create your item and product listing on Amazon before you get your registered Trademark, and you can also start selling your product too.

          You just won’t be able to enter that product into the brand registry and get all of the benefits that come with that until you get your registered trademark.

          Hope this helps 🙂
          Kym

  38. Hi

    Thank you for amazing content. As always well put together in a simple to understand format.

    I live in UK and sell in USA and UK. Would getting a EU trademark be acceptable for brand registry USA? Or do I have to file two?

    Thanks in advance.

    1. Hi Nika,

      Thanks for the kind words. You will have to have a US trademark in order to register your brand on Amazon.com.

      Hope this helps.

      Gen

      1. Hi Gen, wondering if that is the case as above in the post it says the opposite under ‘Tips for International Sellers’, ie you apply for the TM in the UK, this is accepted for the Brand Reg. in Amazon USA saving you money not having to also register in the USA.

        “This may or may not change in the future, but as it stands, if you are considering becoming an international seller, then it may be cheaper and easier to just apply for one Trademark in Europe, which would allow you to apply for Brand Registry in the US, as well as the next two biggest marketplaces, the UK and Germany.”

        Thoughts

        Danny

        1. Hi Danny,

          Sure – what I meant in that section is that currently it looks like UK or European registered trademarks are accepted to enter both the Europe and US Brand Registry programs.

          You can see what trademarks are accepted for the US Brand Registry on the Amazon page here under FAQs, and for the UK here.

          So from what Amazon are advising at the time of writing, a European TM would be the most cost effective way that would allow you to apply for Brand Registry in several marketplaces.

          Many thanks,
          Kym

  39. So do we need to be registered with Brand registry to get a FNSKU??

    No matter how many videos or blogs I read I am still very confused

    1. Hey Francesco,

      Nope, you need a GTIN to get an FNSKU — unless you qualify for GTIN exception. A GTIN is a globally recognized barcode, such as a UPC. Amazon uses this GTIN to generate an FNSKU which is an Amazon specific barcode which you need to use FBA.

      You need a registered trademark to get brand registry, but you don’t need to get brand registry. However, it’s advised that you consider working towards getting Brand Registry if you are selling private label.

      Hope that helps!
      Kym

  40. Hello Kym,

    Thanks for your response!

    I have another question:
    Is it necessary to have a different trademark for different classes of products? For example if I have a trademark for clothing or towels/fabric etc.. and start selling tools or pool inflatables must I register a different trademark for those products and list that trademark name under a different class of products?

    Would I need to register multiple trademarks if I sell different types of products?

    Thanks,
    Natasha

    1. Hey Natasha,

      I believe you can use the same trademark for different types of products, so long as they are all branded with the same brand name and trademark.

      For example, Nike sell clothing and sports equipment, but have a registered trademark of their brand name and logo (Nike tick).

      Having said this, if you are selling products that are completely different in category / niche, then you may want to develop different brand names for different groups of products or or niches. In which case, you’d need to trademark each different brand name.

      Many thanks,
      Kym

      1. Hey Kym,

        Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you have to pay the same amount of fees If you had a registered trademark and wanted to add another class to it.

        For example, if “Jungle Creations” is your registered trademark, you must select a class for it, such as baby products. Therefore, you can use “Jungle Snugs” under “Jungle Creations”, but you cannot use “Jungle Stix” under “Jungle Creations” until you add the patio class for “Jungle Creations” or whatever class the “Jungle Stix” is under, and that would cost the same amount of fees it cost you in the beginning. I think the fees are around $349.

        I had this issue for my trademark, it would be great if someone had some intel on this.

        Thank you.

        1. Hey Ahmad,

          You are correct, if you want to use a “generic” brand name, like Jungle Creations, then you need to register your trademark in all of the classes you intend to use.

          For example, if we decided to do this for our products, we’d need to ensure the trademark classes covered our range of prooducts (and potentially any future product categories).

          The cost to do this will depend on where you are applying for a trademark and what methods you are using to apply. Check out our latest post on this topic here: http://www.junglescout.com/blog/trademarks-for-amazon-sellers

          Thanks for your comment Ahmad

          Kym

  41. Does it matter if another seller is selling the same product when brand registering? For example if your manufacturer is selling the exact same bamboo sticks as Jungle Stix or the exact same hooded towels as Jungle Snugs to another private labeler under another trademark/brand does that cause any complications? Or are there any legal implications?

    Is this (Trademarking/brand registry) simply something that Amazon now requires but doesn’t mean you are infringing on already existing products with the same design that are Trademarked/Registered?

    That would only be an issue with a patented product right?

    Thanks

    1. Hey Natasha,

      With the trademark you are looking to register the brand name itself, not the product design or shape. So if you are using a similar brand name to a competitor (or anyone else for that matter), who has a registered trademark, then this may cause you some issues. You are correct, your product design is fine unless it infringes on product patents.

      The worst case scenario for submitting a trademark application is that you don’t get your registered trademark granted, and you will lose the money you paid for the application. This is why it’s really important to do your research before submitting, to ensure you are using a brand name that will be likely to get approved. There some interesting insights on how to do that in the comments here above (thanks Ben!).

      Another approach is to use a generic brand name that is unrelated to your product, which is especially useful if you have, or plan to have, a selection of products that use the same brand name.

      Thanks for reading 🙂
      Kym

  42. Hi there,

    Do you guys advise to just trademark your company’s name as a “brand” or would you trademark every time a new SKU is being added to your company?

    Think the biggest difference here is the cost and the time associated.

    Thanks in advance for your insight!

    1. Hey Dominic,

      Great question!

      If you take a look at the Brand Registry page is says “Brand name that is registered as a trademark in the form of a wordmark.”

      It also states that, “Images of products and packaging that carry the trademarked brand name in a permanent fashion.”

      With this in mind, if you have a selection of products that can be branded with the same brand name, logo etc, then it makes total sense to just have one trademark for them all, in order to access Brand Registry.

      In some cases this might mean rebranding existing products though, so it depends on circumstance. For example, we could get a trademark for both Jungle Stix and Jungle Snugs, but we couldn’t get one trademark for both as they are different wordmarks. But, we could potentially launch new products in the Baby category using the Jungle Snugs brand.

      Would love to hear if anyone else has any experience of organizing their brands and trademarks here?

      Thanks for reading Dominic, let us know how you get on with the trademark process!
      Kym

      1. Hello Kym,

        Can you please clear something up for me on this topic?

        If I have a company name “ABC company” and I want to trademark “ABC company” I can them sell many different types of products under that brand long as it has the same logo and name type on the product itself and packaging?

        For example I will sell water bottles and call it “ABC company water bottles” AND sell shoes and call it “ABC company shoes”

        OR do I need to say “ABC water bottles by “ABC company” & “ABC shoes by “ABC company” does that make sense?

        Thanks

        1. Hey David,

          When going through the Brand Registry process, Amazon wants to see the exact trademark logo on the product, even if you have sort of a “generic” catch all name like ABC company. Plus, the site has to match, too (down to the domain, if I’m not mistaken).

  43. Does the trademark have to be approved in order to be approved for Amazon’s Brand Registry? Or do I just need to have an active trademark application?

    1. Hey Victor,

      Yes, under the new Brand Registry your trademark needs to be approved (registered). Some people have tried to apply for BR whilst their application is in process and haven’t been granted access.

      Thanks,
      Kym

  44. My tip for any branding exercise is that before you define and choose your brand check all the global trademark databases for anything remotely similar in your product class. If you brand your product and then go into the trademark process you could be very disappointed by the outcome if you breach an already registered trademark. This could be tricky for branded products that are already established. In the UK the cost to trademark is £200 + £50 for each additional class you want to register in. Its worth looking and paying for additional classes to give you brand the correct coverage. I recently made a BR 2.0 application with AMZ UK because the trademark was only in application status I was rejected and asked to re-apply when the trademark was fully granted. In the Uk this is around 10 weeks unless someone challenges your application. Looking forward to BR 2.0 to enable the better content and hopefully some of the other juicey stuff in your article. 🙂

    1. Hey Ben,

      This is excellent advice and thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge on the subject. Fingers crossed for your trademark being granted soon!

      Do you have any top tips for researching if your brand may be breaching an already registered trademark, other than utilizing Google?

      Thanks for reading!
      Kym

      1. There are free to use open databases of already registered trademarks, so if you come up with an idea for a brand name you can type it in and see what is registered and importantly what the class is. You may be able to register a similar trademark if the class is totally different. For example class 15 is musical instruments and class 19 is building materials. In the UK the database to search is https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmtext and you can type in your text and see what is already registered, this also shows EU registrations. In the USA you can search here http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4805:wknhey.1.1 When choosing a brand its incredibly hard to actually find something that is totally unique !!!

        1. Hey Ben,

          Amazing insights – thanks for sharing these links with everyone. Have you successfully found unique brands to trademark yourself?

          Thanks for reading,
          Kym

          1. Hi Kym,

            Yes quite a few trademark brands in fact. My personal preference is to stay away from anything that is too obvious for the product or category and build something that is totally unique. (most cases not even a word that exists currently) You will be surprised how easy it is to build brand recognition with a completely unrelated brand name to the product or niche that you are working in. Its also the easiest way to avoid other trademarks and avoid trademark challenges, which cost you time and money. B

            1. Hey again Ben,

              That’s such good advice, thanks for sharing with the community.

              Interesting you mention having a brand name that is unrelated, this ties in with Dominic’s question (below) about having several SKU’s under one brand name, which would be ideal to cut down on costs of getting trademarks and the lengthy process.

              I think the main takeaway I am hearing from you is definitely do your research before investing – great tips!

              Thanks again,
              Kym

  45. I’m always impressed by your consistently helpful information and positive outlook. There are a lot of complainers out there, but Jungle Scout resources read like a breath of fresh air. You guys are definitely glass-half-full and I appreciate that approach!

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