We all watched it, but if you haven’t – we are talking about that video of a penguin stealing stones from another penguins’ nest. It’s a mix of both bad and good emotion. For some reason, most of us find the penguin-stealer funny or cute, but feel bad with the other who was honestly working on her nest.

Amazon is a place not different from Antarctica where theft is a constant. The truth is: we cannot completely free the world of theft, whoever or whatever the actor is. Amazon is no exception.

Theft is committed on Amazon in the form of counterfeiting, without the element of cuteness.  Counterfeiting is one of the evils facing both the e-commerce giant and its sellers.

What is counterfeiting? It is an act of selling products which includes “bootlegs, fakes, or pirated copies of products or content; products that have been illegally replicated, reproduced, or manufactured; and products that infringe another party’s intellectual property rights.”

Like the victim penguin, legitimate Amazon sellers have spent considerable resources in building up their brands. But counterfeiters in the e-commerce platform work incredibly hard and smart to negatively impact brands’ growth as counterfeit products destroy brands’ reputation and ability to make profits.

A case study suggests that 3 out of 4 buyers would stop buying from a brand if they discover that there were counterfeits on the market that could be potentially harmful.

Indeed, the implications of counterfeiting reach beyond the buyers and the sellers. Counterfeiting on a large scale disrupts the economy; hence affecting everyone’s lives, one way or another.

Fortunately, Amazon is attributable to customers’ confidence in the authenticity of goods sold on the platform.

Apart from the other programs such as Brand Registry, IP Accelerator, etc, Amazon has another one called Amazon Transparency Program.

The Amazon Transparency program is designed to help brands improve product safety, reduce counterfeits, and provide consumers with greater visibility into their purchases. It places rigorous anti-counterfeiting systems designed to protect customers and honest sellers.

How does it help Amazon sellers?

Two-folds: (1) it has helped increase revenue by 30% which is a significant amount; and (2) it assures no infringement: it has been operational since 2017, and Amazon is claiming that there have been no infringement attempts on any of the enrolled products

How does it actually work?

The program uses a sophisticated product labeling system. It uses secure, unique codes that identify individual units; thus, making product verification readily available to buyers.

Here are easy steps to get started:

Step 1: Amazon sellers have the option to enroll all its products or only some of them to the program.

Step 2: Amazon sellers attach the transparency codes to the enrolled products, like so:

Step 3: Amazon will only ship products with valid transparency codes

Step 4: Buyers can scan the transparency code to determine if they received authentic products, like so.

Step 5: Amazon sellers can interact with their buyers via the Amazon Shopping app and the Transparency app to ensure satisfaction.

Amazon has a cool video about this program. Check it out, it is less than 2 minutes: Transparency by Amazon.

Who are eligible to program?

To be eligible, you must be Amazon sellers must be (1) brand registered, (2) have a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) for your product, such as a UPC, ISBN, or EAN, (3) have the ability to apply unique Transparency codes to every unit you manufacture, regardless of where the units are sold, then you are eligible.

How does Trademark Angel help Amazon sellers expedite Transparency enrollment?

First, we’ll work on getting you brand registered on Amazon. To do so, you’ll need a trademark registration which can take too long for many countries. Good thing is Trademark Angel offers trademark registration in Germany.

Germany? Why?

In Germany, a trademark application matures to registration in 2 weeks to 2 months – the quickest route registration and indeed to Brand Registry enrollment.

Once brand registered, you can now easily apply for the Transparency program. To be sure, the program is available to select countries, including Germany.

If you are an Amazon seller, the only thing that may lengthen the process is the time between now and when you contact Trademark Angel.

Make the call now and join our clients who are now making the most of the Amazon Transparency Program. Don’t get left behind.