The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is being swamped by trademark applications (about 900,000/year, or 3x the level 20 years ago). Many of these applications are solely concerned with getting a so-called Amazon trademark … and not just because of Amazon’s hundreds of millions of customers. Amazon’s own policies have a lot to do with it.
How so? Amazon incentivizes sellers and manufacturers to trademark their brands to join Amazon Brand Registry, which not only grants IP protection but also unlocks special marketing powers including Amazon stores, analytics, special advertising programs, and more.
Many of the brands flooding USPTO for trademark requests are Amazon sellers from China. Quoting Marketplace Pulse:
So many brands are launching on Amazon that their trademark registrations are increasingly overwhelming the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The office received a record 943,928 trademark registration applications in 2021. The number of applications has increased 70% in five years. Unsurprisingly, the current processing backlog and thus processing time are at all-time highs.
25% of USPTO trademark registrations were for businesses in China. Five years ago, their share was close to 5%. In the EU, 38% of trademark registrations were for businesses in China.
Most of the brands are filing USPTO applications to take advantage of Amazon Brand Registry marketing programs, and do it by following the law (even if the brands seem a little odd, like SDITLF or MUWRIL).
Black hat Amazon trademark applications
But some FBA sellers are breaking the rules, aided by sketchy lawyers and overwhelmed USPTO staff. They are not only establishing their brands, they are using trademarks as a club to undermine or shut down other sellers.
There was a case earlier this year in which someone from China registered GENERIC … and promptly kicked off thousands of sellers selling generic items on Amazon.
