Amazon launches IP law firm network
Amazon has today launched IP Accelerator, a project that connects brands with a curated network of IP law firms.
The law firms, which include The Sladkus Law Group, Neal & McDevitt, and Dunner Law, will provide trademark registration services to help brands secure a US trademark at the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Dharmesh Mehta, vice president, Amazon worldwide customer trust and partner support, spoke to WIPR about IP Accelerator about the move, which could prove significant for rights owners, as well as law firms and the wider legal services industry.
A new player in IP services
“A lot of what we try to do in building a trustworthy customer shopping experience starts with the small and medium brands we work with. Over the years, we’ve continued to invest in a number of different innovations,” said Mehta.
In February, Amazon launched its Project Zero programme, which it claims “empowers brands to help drive counterfeits to zero”, in the US, followed by expansion in August into Europe.
Now, the IP Accelerator project will provide brands with the opportunity to seek general IP advice, in addition to using the law firms to file trademark applications.
“More and more small and medium businesses are trying to invent amazing products … but it’s tricky. How do I find a trusting law firm and obtain the right IP rights? I’ve seen many cases where entrepreneurs have struggled, and it’s taken too long to get things done,” said Mehta.
He added that the core of the project is to do three things: help brands quickly obtain IP rights, help the brands get these rights at competitive prices that fit business models and needs, and to help accelerate brand protection on Amazon.
On speeding up the process, Mehta explained that some smaller brands may spend months of searching for a law firm that’s right for them. With the IP Accelerator, brands have a set of law firms at their fingertips, which “leaps over months of searching”.
After being vetted for experience, expertise and customer service, the law firms have agreed to competitive, pre-negotiated rates for basic services involved in the trademark filing process.
If brands use the law firms to file trademark applications, Amazon will provide them with accelerated access to IP protections across its stores, to better protect their brand months, or even years, before their trademark registration officially issues.
“Today, brand protections on Amazon require us to protect IP but we wait for it to be formally registered, which can take multiple years. Because we’ve vetted these law firms and there’s a high bar for what they file, the process for protecting the brands will take a matter of weeks,” added Mehta.
Access to brand protection tools
Brands will benefit from automated brand protections, which proactively block bad listings from Amazon’s stores, increased authority over product data, and access to Amazon’s Report a Violation tool (used to search for and report bad listings that have made it past Amazon’s automated protections), according to a blog post on the launch.
Amazon is confident that establishing this network of law firms will be welcomed by entrepreneurs.
Much like Project Zero and its expansion in Europe, Amazon’s next step for the IP Accelerator is to expand trademark filing services outside the US. It’s also possible that, post-launch, Amazon may look into establishing pre-negotiated rates for other types of IP right filings or advice.
More generally, said Mehta, it’s critical for Amazon to create a trustworthy experience. “We’re going to keep innovating,” he concluded.
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