Brand Registry is free, but most of the tools that grow and protect an Amazon brand sit behind it. Here is what you need to enrol, what you get and the mistakes that slow applications down.
Amazon Brand Registry is the programme that tells Amazon you own a brand. Enrolment itself is free, yet it unlocks most of the tools serious sellers rely on: A+ Content, Sponsored Brands ads, a Brand Store, Brand Analytics and the tools for reporting counterfeits and hijackers.
If you sell your own products on Amazon and have not enrolled yet, it is usually the first thing we recommend fixing.
What you need before you apply
Amazon sets two basic requirements. First, your brand name, or a logo that includes it, must be permanently shown on your products or their packaging. Second, you need a trademark for that name or logo, either registered or, in many cases, a pending application, from the trademark office of a country where Amazon has a store.
- You must be the trademark owner. An agency or agent can be added as a user afterwards, but the owner enrols the brand.
- Both word marks (text) and design marks (a logo containing words, letters or numbers) are accepted.
- The brand name in your application must match the trademark exactly.
- Have the registration or application number ready, plus a list of the product categories you sell in.
If you do not have a trademark yet, Amazon's IP Accelerator connects brands with vetted intellectual property law firms. Amazon says brands that use it can get earlier access to some Brand Registry benefits while the trademark application is pending.
How to enrol, step by step
- Sign in to Brand Registry with your Seller Central or Vendor Central login and choose to enrol a brand.
- Enter your brand details, select the trademark office and add the registration or application number.
- Upload your logo if it is a design mark, and at least one product image showing the brand on the product or packaging.
- Confirm whether you are a seller, a vendor or both, and choose your product categories.
- Add manufacturing and distribution details, then submit.
- Amazon sends a verification code to the contact on the trademark record. Pass it back to Amazon to complete enrolment.
Amazon says approval times vary and can take several weeks, longer if the trademark is still pending. The verification code step is where many applications stall, because the code goes to the trademark contact, often a law firm, not to the seller.
What Brand Registry unlocks
Amazon groups the benefits into growing sales and protecting the brand:
- Better listings: A+ Content and Premium A+, Amazon Vine and Manage Your Experiments for testing titles, images and A+ against each other.
- Advertising: Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, a free Brand Store, Posts and Amazon Live.
- Data: Brand Analytics search term data, Amazon Attribution and Brand Metrics.
- Protection: Report a Violation, automated protections, and access to Transparency and Project Zero for brands that qualify.
Amazon UK also runs incentives for newly enrolled brands, such as the New Seller Incentives and Brand Referral Bonus programmes. Check the current terms in Seller Central, as they change.
Common mistakes that slow approval
- The brand on the product or packaging does not match the trademark text.
- Product photos show a generic or unbranded item, or the brand is only on a sticker.
- The trademark is owned by a different person or company from the selling account, with no clear link between them.
- Nobody monitors the trademark contact's inbox for the verification code.
What to do once you are enrolled
Enrolment is the start, not the finish. The brands that get the most from it add A+ Content to their best sellers first, launch a simple Brand Store, start Sponsored Brands campaigns on their own brand terms, and check Brand Analytics monthly for the search terms competitors are winning.
If you are unsure whether your trademark qualifies, or an application has been rejected, our team can review it and handle the enrolment and follow-up with Amazon for you.