Muskan Mahajan
Amazon announced the beginning of its Intellectual Property Accelerator (IP Accelerator) programme in India on 4 July 2021, which would give sellers who are also brand owners access to services from IP specialists and legal firms. This programme is already available in the US, Europe and Canada and according to Mary Beth Westmoreland who is the vice president, technology brand protection at Amazon, stated that they are very excited to offer this advantageous programme to Indian businesses.
The Intellectual Property Accelerator Programme helps businesses to secure their intellectual property, which means ensuring that everyone has a legitimate buying experience. The methodology to secure the IP under this programme is that the sellers including small and medium-sized businesses, can choose to work with these IP law firms on Amazon.in and Amazon websites around the world to help secure trademarks, safeguard their brands, and combat infringement.
IP Accelerator began in the United States in 2019 and has since grown to include Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and now India. The excellent feedback received from the programme that was piloted in India last year led to its launching this year. Six IP law firms have signed up to be service providers as part of the IP Accelerator programme to serve Amazon.in sellers: Hasan and Singh, Lexorbis, Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys, Amitabha Sen & Co, Remfry & Sagar, and H K Acharya & Company.
The reason behind launching this programme is that firms of all sizes must establish IP rights, in order to differentiate their products, acquire customer trust, and develop their business. However, because the procedure is complex and time-consuming, many businesses drop out along the way. The IP Accelerator program’s introduction in India will assist lakhs of sellers, particularly small and medium sized businesses with new brands, in securing IP protection. The Trademark registry in India can take up to 18-24 months, as a result, many brand owners especially small and medium businesses find the process lengthy and time consume and hence, avoid the process. The IP Accelerator Program will assist businesses in navigating this process by linking them with reputable IP law firms that are subject matter experts in this industry and have drafted trademark and other IP registration applications.
Sellers on Amazon.in’s Service Provider Network (SPN) can use IP Accelerator, and there is no additional charge for accessing IP Accelerator company listings on SPN. The sellers will have the option of working directly and independently with the law firms for services of their choosing at mutually agreed terms.
With the expansion of market platforms, various brands are now considering the need for IP protection and the implementation of laws. The launch of the IP Accelerator programme by Amazon is a great initiative to help small and medium sized businesses with IP regulations. Similarly, Park Star Media, situated in the United States, is one of five firms selected for the accelerator programme, which aims to aid high-growth companies in the licencing market, thereby working to license original character IP. Moreover, Flipkart had launched ‘Flipkart leap’ which was the companies first start-up accelerator programme. Therefore, it is evident that these big companies are working towards helping small and medium businesses to grow and protect them in the giant market.
