Amazon has released its third annual Brand Protection Report to highlight its own progress in four key areas: controls to protect its store; tools to protect brands; holding bad actors accountable; and protecting and educating customers.
Of particular note for sporting goods companies, Amazon reports expanded brand protection tools for those enrolled in its Brand Registry, reducing the need for brands to find and report infringements. Amazon says that in 2022, the absolute number of valid notices of infringement filed by brands in its Brand Registry decreased by over 35 percent. It adds that in 2022, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit sued or referred for investigation over 1,300 criminals in the U.S., U.K., EU, and China, with Amazon identifying, seizing, and appropriately disposing of over six million counterfeit products.
To “deter bad actors,” Amazon employs seller verification, including video chat and machine learning-based detection. Amazon reports it stopped over 800,000 attempts to create new selling accounts in 2022. In partnership with U.S. legal bodies, it built marketing campaigns to educate consumers about how to ensure they were purchasing authentic products.
Amazon may find itself under increasing pressure to do more to protect the intellectual property (IP) of brands following a ruling in December by the highest judicial authority of the EU, which substantially tightened the liability of operators of online platforms. Legal experts are calling it a “landmark decision.” You can read our analysis and explanation now.
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