Amazon launches new anti-counterfeiting program, Project Zero

By Maegan Burkhart

Counterfeit problems aren’t new to Amazon. But effectively addressing them arguably is.

Complaints from Amazon sellers over the lack of protections against counterfeit goods have steadily increased in recent years. But now Amazon has a new anti-counterfeit program: Project Zero.

Amazon announced the anti-counterfeit program in a blog article on their website last week. Amazon has already piloted Project Zero with 15 brands over the last several months, with plans to gradually invite more brands to the program in the coming weeks.

Participating brands have good things to say about the program so far. The CEO of Thunderworks says of Project Zero:

Every unit we sell through Amazon has a unique, serialized barcode, and our counterfeit problem has nearly disappeared in the United States.

And Amazon hopes Project Zero will help them finally live up to their “zero tolerance” policy for counterfeit products.

Sellers will have power to remove counterfeit products themselves

Before Project Zero, sellers would have to contact Amazon directly to request Amazon remove a counterfeit product from the platform. The brand might even need to buy the suspected counterfeit product themselves to prove to Amazon that it was fake.

Many Amazon sellers have complained previously that this reactive process was slow and tedious.

Amazon is looking to streamline that process with Project Zero. The program is made up of three main parts:

• Automated protections
• A self-service counterfeit removal tool, and
• Product serialization

For its automated protections, Amazon is using machine learning to continuously scan product listings and proactively remove counterfeits. Once brands provide Amazon with their logos and trademarks, Amazon’s automatic protections can scan for any fraudulent products throughout the website.

Amazon claims their automated protections scan over five billion product listings a day, stopping 100 times the number of suspected counterfeit products the brands directly report.

With the new self-service counterfeit tool, brands now have the unprecedented power to remove products themselves without Amazon’s prior approval. But brands will need to undergo training with Amazon before they can use the tool and must maintain a “high bar for accuracy” to retain their privileges.

Regarding product serialization, Amazon will provide brands with a unique code for every single unit manufactured, which brands can then put on their products during manufacturing. Amazon’s fulfillment centers can then scan and verify purchases against these numbers before shipping the goods to customers.

How can you join Project Zero?

Project Zero is still an invite-only program, but Amazon says they’re adding brands as quickly as possible and you can sign up now to join the waiting list. Brands must already have a government-registered trademark and have enrolled their brand(s) in Amazon Brand Registry to join.

But is the program free for sellers?

The automated protections and self-service removal tools are free for all sellers. But brands that use the product serialization service will need to pay between $0.01 and $0.05 per unit for the serial number, based on volume.

This fee could add to complaints that smaller brands with less resources are already at a higher risk (see #5) to counterfeits on Amazon.

And if you do join the serialization program, be sure to inform your suppliers. Adding the serial number to your packaging will require introducing a new Amazon packaging requirement to your suppliers.

Follow the link below to learn more about Amazon’s new program to protect sellers from counterfeits:

Amazon Wants Brands to Fight Fake Products Themselves – Louise Matsakis, Wired

Maegan Burkhart is a Client Manager at InTouch Manufacturing Services, a QC firm that performs product inspections and factory audits in Asia for clients in the US, EU and Australia.