Imaging Supplies Coalition, Amazon Partner to Protect IP Rights

On November 18th, the Imaging Supplies Coalition for Intellectual Property Protection (ISC) announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Amazon that it says will initiate a new era of collaboration and intellectual property protection efforts between Amazon and ISC members.

The ISC is a non-profit organization of companies seeking to protect the intellectual property (IP) rights for their printer and MFP supplies, including ink and toner cartridges. Members include Brother International, Canon Inc., HP Inc., Lexmark International, Xerox, and others.

The ISC says he MOU is a reflection of Amazon and ISC’s commitment to protecting customers and rights holders’ IP. Under the agreement, the ISC and Amazon will form a task force to better facilitate knowledge sharing, enforcement against bad actors, and improvement of processes and tools.

“All of the stakeholders of the imaging supplies industry and its customers are negatively affected by IPR infringing and misrepresented products.” said Allen Westerfield, president of the ISC. “Online shoppers can be particularly vulnerable and Amazon continues to be the most proactive and collaborative of marketplaces when it comes to fighting infringement. We have a common commitment to create safe and trusted online shopping experiences and we are excited and committed to expand our relationship with Amazon through this new and worthwhile endeavor.” The ISC’s proactive and collaborative approach aims to combine the coalition’s information, resources, and expertise with those of its partners to advance the fight against IPR infringement as an integral part of its brand protection strategy.

“We believe that collaboration is critical to successfully preventing infringement and partners like the Imaging Supplies Coalition provide effective forums that coalesce industry learnings so we can improve our tools while also educating brands about how best to use them,” said Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of Customer Trust & Partner Support at Amazon.

Amazon’s Brand Registry powers programs such as Project Zero and Transparency which empower rights holders to protect their intellectual property rights in Amazon’s stores. With more than 200,000 brands worldwide enrolled in Brand Registry, brands are reporting an average of 99-percent fewer suspected infringements post-enrollment than before the launch of Brand Registry and over 99 percent of product pages viewed by customers have not received a notice of potential infringement.

ISC President Allen Westerfield and Amazon’s Vice President of Customer Trust & Partner Support Dharmesh Mehta signed the MOU.