Amazon Matches Small Biz with Trademark Lawyers

Amazon expanded its IP Accelerator program to Canada. The service helps connect small businesses with lawyers so they can secure their brands’ trademarks and intellectual property rights.

The program launched in the US in 2019 and has since expanded to Europe, Japan, India, and now Canada. Amazon does not charge selling partners to use IP Accelerator – small businesses pay their law firm directly for the work performed at reduced, pre-negotiated rates.

Amazon explained in Monday’s announcement, “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, giving SMBs access to expert legal and general IP advice that may otherwise be cost-prohibitive or hard to find.”

The Vice President of Brand Protection at Amazon, Mary Beth Westmoreland, pointed to the over 30,000 third-party sellers based in Canada who have grossed over $2 billion on Amazon’s stores around the world. “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,” she said. “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.”

Amazon said the Intellectual Property Accelerator program makes it easier and more cost effective for small and medium-sized businesses to obtain trademarks, protect their brands and tackle infringing goods both in Amazon’s stores and the broader marketplace.

Businesses should understand that Amazon has access to the applications filed through the program. In FAQs about the program on the Amazon.com website, it states:

What happens if my trademark application filed through IP Accelerator is denied?
We regularly monitor the status of trademark applications filed through IP Accelerator. If your application is denied, then you will no longer have access to the brand protection features for that trademark application.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.