Amazon's 2024 Brand Protection Report highlights its ongoing, multi-faceted approach to counterfeit protection on Amazon, combining AI, legal action, and brand empowerment to combat fake products.
Counterfeit products continue to threaten online marketplaces, deceiving customers, harming brands, and undermining trust in e-commerce.
Despite ongoing efforts, counterfeiters evolve their tactics, using sophisticated methods to bypass security measures, leading to financial losses and safety risks for consumers.
Amazon’s 2024 Brand Protection Report highlights a billion-dollar investment in AI-driven technology, proactive enforcement, and strategic partnerships to strengthen counterfeit protection on Amazon, blocking fraudulent listings and holding bad actors accountable.
Counterfeit protection on Amazon strengthens with a billion-dollar push
Counterfeit products have long been a challenge for e-commerce platforms, undermining consumer trust and harming legitimate businesses.
In response, Amazon has significantly ramped up its efforts to combat counterfeiters, investing over a billion dollars and deploying thousands of experts to protect customers, brands, and selling partners.
The company’s latest Brand Protection Report details the progress made in 2024, highlighting cutting-edge technology, legal action, and industry collaboration as key elements of its strategy.
AI-powered tools stop counterfeiters in their tracks
Amazon continues to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to proactively detect and block fraudulent listings before they reach customers. The company reports that 99% of suspected counterfeit listings were removed before brands even had to report them.
Since 2020, this has resulted in a 35% decrease in valid infringement claims, demonstrating the effectiveness of AI-driven enforcement.
Holding counterfeiters accountable
Beyond technology, Amazon is taking aggressive legal action against counterfeiters. Through partnerships with law enforcement agencies and brand owners, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued over 24,000 bad actors since 2020.
In 2024 alone, the company seized and destroyed 15 million counterfeit products, ensuring they never reach customers or the resale market.
Educating consumers to strengthen protection
Consumer awareness is another pillar of Amazon’s counterfeit protection strategy. In 2024, Amazon partnered with the International Trademark Association (INTA) to launch a global campaign educating shoppers about the risks of counterfeit goods. This initiative encourages customers to recognize and avoid fake products, reinforcing a safer shopping environment.
With ongoing investments in AI, legal enforcement, and brand protection programs, Amazon is making significant strides in counterfeit protection on Amazon. While challenges persist, the company remains committed to driving counterfeit products out of its marketplace and ensuring a secure, trustworthy shopping experience for all.
Other key wins in the fight against counterfeits
Beyond its core AI defenses, Amazon’s Brand Protection Report reveals these substantial gains in 2024:
Amazon Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) speeds up patent disputes
Amazon’s Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) program has revolutionized patent dispute resolution, delivering decisions in approximately 30 days, a sharp contrast to the two-year timeline typical of U.S. patent litigation.
Stephen Alexander"The rise of e-commerce has produced a flood of Internet-related patents that make infringement as easy as a single click of the mouse."
Intellectual Property Accelerator empowers global brands
Through its Intellectual Property Accelerator, Amazon has helped over 16,000 brands from 36 countries secure trademark protections, connecting business owners with trusted IP law firms and providing support in 18 languages.
Project Zero for brand protection
Amazon’s Project Zero has enabled more than 35,000 brands to proactively block counterfeit infringements using automated protections, instant removal tools, and serialization technology to safeguard supply chains and prevent counterfeits from reaching customers.
Transparency Program ensures authenticity for billions of products
Amazon’s Transparency program has verified the authenticity of over 2.5 billion product units while enrolling 88,000 brands worldwide, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging startups and small businesses.
In 2024, Transparency’s interoperability feature facilitated the verification of tens of millions of product units sold on Amazon for renowned global brands such as Samsung, Microsoft, Logitech, Manuka Health, Tumi, and Xerox.
Counterfeit Crimes Unit delivers justice for brands
Since its launch in 2020, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued more than 24,000 bad actors through litigation and criminal referrals, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to brand protection.
Cross-border collaboration with Chinese authorities yields results
Amazon strengthened its anti-counterfeiting partnership with Chinese law enforcement in 2024, successfully executing over 60 raids and identifying more than 100 bad actors, including manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit goods. This partnership resulted in multiple convictions, fines, and prison sentences.
U.S. and Japanese Customs partnerships to stop counterfeit flow
In collaboration with U.S. and Japanese customs agencies, Amazon played a pivotal role in stopping over 90,000 counterfeit products from entering domestic supply chains in 2024, enhancing customer protection through shared intelligence on seized goods.
Trademarks: essential for Amazon sellers seeking counterfeit protection
While Amazon invests heavily in platform-wide counterfeit protection, sellers looking to maximize these benefits must first secure a trademark. Without it, access to key brand protection tools and features remains limited, leaving sellers vulnerable.
Sellers have multiple avenues to secure a trademark, including direct application to the relevant trademark office, utilizing Amazon’s IP Accelerator program, or engaging an Amazon agency.
Why trademarks matter
For sellers aiming to build a lasting brand on Amazon, a registered trademark is non-negotiable. It unlocks Amazon’s Brand Registry, a crucial tool for protecting listings and enforcing intellectual property rights.
Benefits beyond protection
A trademark grants access to features like Brand Stores, which prevent competitor ads from appearing on product detail pages. Sellers also gain access to A+ Content, brand stories, and sponsored brand headline ads, enhancing their brand presence and marketing efforts.
Stopping hijackers and counterfeiters
A registered trademark empowers sellers to take down hijackers and unauthorized sellers. It allows them to report infringements and send cease-and-desist notices.
Branding as a first line of defense
Sellers can also proactively protect their listings by incorporating branding into their product images. This is especially important for commodity items, where unauthorized sellers are more likely to appear.
Gray Falkon"A successful eCommerce strategy goes beyond marketing, pricing, and fulfillment, it also requires strong brand protection."
Brand protection on Amazon: key strategies
Selling on Amazon can be rewarding, but success often attracts counterfeiters. If you don’t protect your brand, copycats can undercut your sales and shorten your product’s lifespan.
Register trademarks and patents to establish legal ownership. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) can help freeze counterfeit accounts and prevent unauthorized sales.
Keep an eye on your listings. Watch for unauthorized sellers, price fluctuations, and duplicate product pages. Use Amazon Brand Registry and transparency programs to gain more control.
The stronger your brand presence, the harder it is for counterfeiters to steal your sales. Invest in A+ Content, professional packaging, and strong product positioning.
If you have a winning product, grow quickly. Market dominance makes it harder for counterfeiters to catch up.
If counterfeiters are affecting your business, legal measures like TROs can freeze their accounts and recover damages.
