How to Get Brand Approval without Trademark

The first 4 products I launched on Amazon have ‘generic’ brand name because I thought I needed a trademark to be able to use my own brand. But I was wrong.

With the 5th and 6th product, I was able to get brand approval even if I don’t have a trademark yet.

This is HOW–

When creating a new product on Seller Central and you enter a brand that is not yet in the system, you’d be automatically redirected to Selling Applications where you will be required to submit documents and images to prove that you are the brand owner. Please see below requirements for reference.

Once you hit SUBMIT, it will automatically create a case ID for your reference. You can also check the status in Menu > Catalogue > View Selling Applications.

Basically, what Amazon is asking are images of your product in its actual packaging where the brand and barcode are visible. You can easily do this once you get the samples from your supplier. Simply take photos of the samples and use those photos when applying for Brand Approval.

Sometimes, or most of the time, someone from Seller Support will reply to your case without even understanding the case or issue. They do that a lot, it’s frustrating. Anyway, if that happens to you–just mention the error (possibly error 5665) that you’re getting when trying to list a product under a new brand, also state that you’ve already applied to get brand approval and attach the same images that you used when you requested for brand approval. Within a day, you should already get your brand approval.

Once you get the approval, you should be able to list products under that brand without any problems. Listing a product under a brand instead of using ‘generic’ makes the product more legit and credible. A product with a generic brand or no brand makes it seem like a cheap knock-off from China. So know better and do better.

One last thing, getting brand approval does not mean you’re automatically eligible for Brand Registry. With Brand Registry, you need a trademark to be able to register. In my opinion, you should only get a trademark once your product is selling really well and profitable, and you’re replenishing and ordering more from your supplier. Before then, you should wait until it makes sense to make that kind of investment.

Got questions? Drop a comment or send me an email.