Amazon IP Accelerator: Trademark Support for Sellers

IP Accelerator is a programme run by Amazon that links sellers to vetted legal service providers working in trademarks and wider intellectual property matters. Amazon states that the programme was designed with small and medium businesses in mind. Beyond trademark registration, providers can file copyright or patent applications, research potential brand names, or help manage an intellectual property dispute. Providers offer their services at competitive rates.

• Trademark registration support
• Copyright and patent applications
• Brand-name research
• IP dispute management
• Help establishing IP in other countries

A central benefit of the programme is faster enrolment in Amazon Brand Registry. Participants can access a broader range of brand protection benefits sooner, even while their trademark registration is still pending. Amazon reports that more than 33,000 brands have enrolled in Brand Registry through IP Accelerator. Sellers who already hold a Brand Registry account are advised to use the same email address for their IP Accelerator request as the one used to log into Brand Registry.

• 33,000+ brands enrolled in Brand Registry via IP Accelerator
• Brand protection benefits available while a trademark is pending

The programme supports trademark filings across 22 trademark offices worldwide. Assistance is available in 18 languages. This international coverage is presented as a way for sellers to establish their intellectual property in other countries and expand a brand's footprint in and beyond the Amazon store. The Belgian seller site presents the programme in both English and Dutch.

• 22 trademark offices supported worldwide
• Assistance in 18 languages

Access to IP Accelerator runs through Seller Central. Sellers log in, or sign up for a selling account if they do not have one; Amazon recommends a Professional selling account in order to use the full range of services. From the Seller Central main menu, sellers click Apps and Services, then Explore Services, select IP Accelerator from the drop-down menu and search the list of service providers. After selecting a provider and clicking Contact Provider, the seller submits details of the request, and providers should respond within two business days.

• Step 1: log in to Seller Central or create a selling account
• Step 2: Apps and Services, then Explore Services, then IP Accelerator
• Step 3: contact a provider and submit a request
• Step 4: the provider guides the trademark filing process
• Providers respond within two business days

The programme page carries statements from two participating businesses. Robinson Cheng, General Counsel at Anker Innovations, describes the ability to build and protect brands as critical for a multi-brand enterprise and says IP Accelerator allowed quick enrolment in Brand Registry and use of Amazon's brand protection tools. Dewar Gaines, Owner and Operator of Gaines Family Farmstead, cites the additional security the programme provides in terms of stopping potential counterfeiters.

• Anker Innovations — Robinson Cheng, General Counsel
• Gaines Family Farmstead — Dewar Gaines, Owner and Operator