Amazon launches counterfeit project in seven countries

In a recent announcement made by Amazon, the company has detailed its expansion of ‘Project Zero’ into seven new countries, which will include the following: Australia, Brazil, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and the UAE.

The expansion will make the project available in 17 countries, combining Amazon’s advanced technology, machine learning and innovation with the knowledge that brands in the regions have of their own intellectual property, in order to drive counterfeits to zero. 

Launched in 2019, the project drives Amazon’s long standing commitment to ensure that customers receive authentic goods. Currently more than 10,000 brands including BMW, OtterBox and Salvatore Ferragamo have enrolled in Project Zero.

“Project Zero has been a very easy and effective tool at protecting BMW on Amazon. We are very appreciative of the tools Amazon has built to enable us to protect our brand,” commented BMW.

“We are excited to see that Project Zero is expanding into the new marketplaces,” said Adrienne McNicholas, Co-Founder and CEO of Food Huggers. “The program has already had a very positive impact on our enforcement efforts and we are glad to see Amazon’s continued commitment to protecting our brand across the world”

Project Zero harnesses three key components in order to protect and empower the brands that are enrolled:

• Automated protections: Amazon’s automated protection proactively and continuously scans over five billion attempted daily product listing updates globally to look for suspicious listings. 
• Self-service tools: Amazon is committed to investing significantly in proactively preventing counterfeits, as well as innovating and building technology based solutions. Project Zero’s self-service tools empowers brands and provides the capability to directly remove listings.
• Product serialisation: enabled by a unique code applied during the manufacturing or packaging process, allows Amazon to individually scan and confirm the authenticity of every purchase .

“Amazon is committed to protecting our customers and the brands we collaborate with worldwide,” commented Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President of Worldwide Customer Trust and Partner Support. “Project Zero has been a leap forward in protecting brands, especially for those that use all three of its components"

Project Zero is one of the many tools Amazon has implemented to empower brands to protect their IP, other include:

• The launch of Amazon Counterfeit Crime Unit (ACCU). This is a global team that investigates and brings legal action against bad actors, protecting customers, selling partners, and brands. 
• The establishment of Amazon’s IP Accelerator, which helps businesses obtain intellectual property (IP) rights and brand protection quicker. The program was designed for SMEs in mind, connecting them with US law firms who are experts in trademark applications.  
• The development of Amazon’s Brand Registry. The registry is a free service provided by Amazon to give brand owners access to a set of tools to help them deliver accurate and trusted customer experiences, while protecting their IP.

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