Amazon streamlines brand protection for Canadian sellers

Canadian small-and-medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores have easier access to intellectual property (IP) lawyers.

Amazon is launching its Intellectual Property Accelerator (IP Accelerator) in Canada, designed to make it easier and more cost-effective for small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to obtain trademarks, protect their brands, and remove infringing goods both in Amazon’s stores and the broader marketplace.

Available to any brand selling in Amazon’s stores, IP Accelerator directly connects Canadian SMB owners with a curated network of local law firms charging reduced, pre-negotiated rates on key services. Amazon does not charge selling partners to use IP Accelerator. Instead, SMBs pay their law firm directly for the work performed at the pre-negotiated cost.

To date, the list of participating firms includes Bereskin & Parr LLP, Brouillette Legal Inc.; Chari Prenol Slaney & Turco; Clancy PC; JZC Intellectual Property Law; Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP; Palmer IP; and Ridout & Maybee LLP.

IP Accelerator also provides SMBs with early access to Amazon’s brand protection tools that can help them protect their brand and IP before their trademark is officially registered. Amazon’s Brand Registry is a free service that provides SMBs with tools that help them manage and protect their brand and IP rights in Amazon stores, with more than 350,000 brands enrolled to date. 

Participants receive Amazon’s automated, data-driven protections that proactively remove suspected infringing or inaccurate content, as well as tools that enable brands to report suspected infringement. Enrollment in Brand Registry also provides brands with greater influence over product information displayed on Amazon’s product detail pages.

Amazon rolled out IP Accelerator in the U.S. in 2019, and has since expanded to Europe, Japan, India, and now Canada. 

“More than 30,000 Canada-based third-party sellers have grown their business with Amazon, reaching millions of customers while grossing more than $2 billion on Amazon’s stores around the world,” said Mary Beth Westmoreland, VP, brand protection at Amazon. “IP Accelerator allows our SMB selling partners to build on that success by protecting their valuable IP and setting them up for long-term growth. Establishing and protecting IP rights are essential for businesses of every size, and Amazon is pleased to introduce a new tool that provides access to specialized expertise to help protect brands.”