The News: Last week, Amazon released its second Brand Protection Report, detailing the progress the company has made to protect customers, brands, selling partners, and the Amazon store from counterfeit, fraud, and other forms of abuse. The report covers three key areas including proactive efforts to protect the Amazon store, tools that partners are using to protect their brands, and how they are holding bad actors accountable. Download the full report from Amazon here.
Amazon Brand Protection Report Details Proactive Ways The Company is Preventing Counterfeit, Fraud and Abuse
Analyst Take: Amazon, and its vast network of selling partners, serve millions of customers worldwide. But it’s not without its challenges. Many of the selling partners, who are small to medium-sized businesses, often deal with fraud, counterfeit goods, and other bad actors that can negatively impact their brand reputation and bottom line. That’s why it’s so promising to see Amazon step up to help protect these brands.
In their second Brand Protection Report, Amazon detailed the key ways that they are using technology for good. These include:
- Proactive controls – seller and product verification process deters bad actors from being able to create new seller accounts and enter the Amazon store. In 2021, Amazon stopped over 2.5 million attempts to create new seller accounts. The company also leveraged machine learning models to mine data for potential risks including relations to previously identified bad actors.
- Automated tools for infringement – Amazon launched the Amazon Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) tool within its Brand Registry Report a Violation tool, making it easier for brands to request evaluations over potential patent disputes.
- Get IP Rights, Faster – Thinking beyond Amazon.com, the Amazon IP Accelerator tool through Brand Registry helps businesses obtain IP rights faster and more efficiently, protecting their products everywhere. Brand Registry saw a 40% increase in the number of brands enrolled in 2021.
- Counterfeit Crimes Unit takes action – In 2020, Amazon established the Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit to work with law enforcement around the world to hold bad actors accountable including shutting down bad actors, seizing inventory, and prosecuting anyone involved. In 2021, they refereed over 600 criminals for investigations around the world. Going one step further, Amazon created a blueprint for private and public sector partnerships to stop the counterfeit activity.
Amazon Protection Beyond Amazon.com
Over the past several years, the issues related to counterfeit and IP, and Amazon has been a spotlight topic. The company has repeatedly shared its strong position on the issue and has given little to indicate it isn’t a priority to rectify the significant risks associated with these bad actors.
The Brand Protection Report highlights Amazon’s mission to protect its own brands and seller partners not just on the website, but everywhere products are sold. By doing so, Amazon is protecting the entire retail industry from harmful bad actors. How Amazon is using its tech for good is not often highlighted, but it should be. The company is dedicated to ensuring that other organizations not only survive but can thrive in our current e-commerce environment.
It is important as an industry leader that Amazon remains prudent in this area. Counterfeiting and IP theft are material issues with substantial implications beyond any one transaction. I expect the company will continue to speak to and innovate to prevent further crime—but it will always be a game of cat and mouse—much like cybersecurity.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
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Image Credit: Amazon
Author Information
Daniel is the CEO of The Futurum Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise.
From the leading edge of AI to global technology policy, Daniel makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology investments. Daniel is a top 5 globally ranked industry analyst and his ideas are regularly cited or shared in television appearances by CNBC, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other sites around the world.
A 7x Best-Selling Author including his most recent book “Human/Machine.” Daniel is also a Forbes and MarketWatch (Dow Jones) contributor.
An MBA and Former Graduate Adjunct Faculty, Daniel is an Austin Texas transplant after 40 years in Chicago. His speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.
