From dayOne, the Amazon Blog:
Today, we’re excited to launch Amazon Intellectual Property Accelerator, a new program that helps brands more quickly obtain intellectual property (IP) rights and brand protection in Amazon’s stores. We created IP Accelerator specifically with small and medium businesses in mind, and IP Accelerator helps these entrepreneurs by making it easier and more cost effective to protect their ideas.
Expert legal guidance is critical for businesses to protect their brands and avoid costly mistakes in the trademark filing process. IP Accelerator solves this challenge by connecting businesses with a curated network of trusted IP law firms that provide high quality trademark registration services at competitive rates to help brands secure a trademark. When businesses use these law firms to file trademark applications, Amazon provides their brands with accelerated access to brand protection in Amazon’s stores.
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Amazon has vetted the participating IP law firms for experience, expertise, and customer service, and all have agreed to competitive, pre-negotiated rates for the standard services involved in obtaining a trademark registration. These law firms help ease the trademark filing process, including researching a brand to see if anyone else is already using it and filing trademark applications to protect it. In addition to trademark applications, these firms can also help with additional IP needs such as copyright registrations, design patents, and broader IP protection strategies, making it easy for businesses to get tailored solutions for their brands.
“We’re very excited Amazon has a list of legal firms that can advise us in our trademark needs. We have struggled finding counsel for trademark specific questions as we are a small company and work with limited budgets. Having the peace of mind that Amazon has vetted these firms and negotiated pricing for us lets us focus on what matters—building our brand” said Sonali Nayak, owner of Indigo Paisley.
Using IP Accelerator takes the guesswork out of the trademark filing process. These law firms know the ins-and-outs of IP and can save businesses both money, and time—a proper, well drafted trademark application can significantly reduce the time required to secure a trademark registration. Amazon does not charge businesses to use IP Accelerator—they only pay their law firm for the work performed at the pre-negotiated rates.
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Because the participating law firms have been thoroughly vetted, when a business works with one of the law firms in IP Accelerator and a trademark has been filed on their behalf, they will be strong candidates for registration. As a result, Amazon will provide these brands with accelerated access to brand protections in Amazon’s stores, to better protect their brand months, or even years, before their trademark registration officially issues. Brands will benefit from automated brand protections, which proactively block bad listings from Amazon’s stores.
Link to the rest at dayOne, the Amazon Blog
Interesting that the OP includes a bit of misdirection or omission with this “new program that helps brands more quickly obtain intellectual property (IP) rights….” Yet they’re careful not to mention that their copyright itself is already protected. One more reason all writers should learn copyright.
I also have to wonder how many of the Amazon-vetted attorneys will tell applicants that many of them don’t need to file for trademark registration, that first and continued use of a trademark most often wins when contested in court.
I’m certainly not a learned attorney, but I can read. What say you, Passive Guy?