USPTO Trademarks For Enrolling in Walmart’s Brand Portal
Similar to Amazon’s Brand Registry, Walmart Brand Portal enables brand owners holding federal trademarks registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to better manage and protect their brands and products on Walmart.com. The Walmart Brand Portal is an innovative and user-friendly tool designed to help rights owners protect their intellectual property rights on Walmart’s e-commerce platform, Walmart.com. Each week, approximately 220 million customers and members visit approximately 10,500 virtual storefronts created on Walmart.com. As a committed protector of intellectual property rights, Walmart is constantly innovating to ensure a safe and compliant online marketplace for both sellers and buyers. The Brand Portal is an integral part of these efforts.
The objective of the Walmart Brand Portal is to provide an interface where rights owners can easily monitor, manage, and protect their intellectual property rights. It allows owners to ensure their brand’s representation aligns with their vision, complies with legal regulations, and addresses potential intellectual property infringements in a prompt manner.
With Walmart’s Brand Portal, rights owners can enjoy a higher level of control and visibility over their intellectual property rights on one of the world’s largest retail platforms. The portal is designed to streamline the process of reporting and resolving possible infringements, thus saving rights owners time and effort while providing assurance that their intellectual property is safeguarded.
The Walmart Brand Portal includes several key features to help prevent trademark infringement:
Brand Registry: This feature allows trademark owners to register their trademarks with Walmart. By doing so, they help the platform understand the specifics of their trademarked content, including brand names, logos, and other significant identifying features. This proactive step can assist Walmart in identifying and removing potentially infringing products more efficiently.
Proactive Monitoring: Walmart’s system actively scans new and existing product listings for potential infringements. This includes checking product names, descriptions, and images against the information provided by rights owners in the Brand Registry. The proactive nature of this monitoring helps prevent trademark infringements before they reach consumers.
Reporting Tools: The Brand Portal provides user-friendly tools to report potential infringements. These tools allow brand owners to provide detailed information about the potential violation, making it easier for Walmart to investigate and take appropriate action.
Case Management: Once a report has been submitted, the Brand Portal’s case management system allows brand owners to track the status of their report. This ensures transparency in the investigation process and allows brand owners to stay updated on the actions taken to address the potential infringement.
Educational Resources: The Brand Portal provides various resources to help brand owners understand their rights and responsibilities, including guidance on how to identify potential trademark infringements. This helps brand owners stay informed and better equipped to protect their trademarks.
Collaborative Approach: Walmart’s Brand Portal emphasizes a collaborative approach to trademark protection. It encourages communication between Walmart and brand owners, ensuring swift and effective action against potential trademark infringements.
These features collectively provide a comprehensive toolset for brand owners to protect their trademarks on Walmart’s platform. They represent Walmart’s commitment to creating a safe, fair, and compliant e-commerce environment for all users.
Submission of Intellectual Property Claims Through the Brand Portal
Walmart has designed the Brand Portal so that brand owner may manage their brands, product listings and intellectual property claims in a one place. The centerpiece of the Walmart Brand Portal is the brand owners ability to protect their intellectual property, including their trademarks, through its claim submission system. A brand owner may submit four types of claims in one easy to complete form:
Trademark Infringement: This claim is lodged when a third party is using a brand’s registered trademark (or a confusingly similar mark) without authorization. Trademarks can include brand names, logos, or any other distinctive signs used to identify products or services.
Copyright Infringement: Copyright infringement claims may be submitted when there is unauthorized use of copyrighted material. This can involve images, text, design elements, or other creative content that a brand has copyright protection over.
Counterfeit Product Complaint: This is a claim that concerns fake or imitation goods that are sold as genuine. Counterfeit products often infringe upon both trademarks and copyrights, as they are designed to imitate the brand, packaging, and content of authentic products.
Once a brand owner has registered its brands and submitted any alleged infringement claims, they can monitor the status of each of their claims until final resolution. The Walmart dashboard will show every claim that has been submitted through the Walmart Brand Portal.
Enrollment in Walmart Brand Portal
The following is a general overview of the enrollment process for Walmart’s Brand Portal program and may be subject to change. For more detailed information and the most up-to-date information, it is recommended to check Walmart’s Brand Portal website.
Create a Walmart Seller Account: To enroll in the Walmart Brand Portal, you must have an active Walmart seller account. If you don’t have one, you can create one by providing your personal and business information.
Review Brand Portal Guidelines: Before enrolling in the Brand Portal, you must review Walmart’s Brand Portal guidelines to ensure that you understand the program’s rules and requirements.
Obtain a USPTO Trademark Registration: To enroll in the Brand Portal, you must have a valid trademark registration issued by the USPTO. Walmart will verify your trademark registration before you can enroll.
Provide Business and Product Information: Before enrolling in the Brand Portal, you will need to gather the following information: (1) Your brand name, (2) Your trademark registration number, (3) A list of product categories for the products you will be selling under your brand, (4) A clear image of your brand logo, word mark, or logo plus word mark, (5) Contact information for your brand, and (6) Information about your website and any other sales channels where your brand is sold.
Submit an Brand Portal Application: Once you have reviewed the Brand Portal guidelines and gathered the required information, you can submit an application to enroll in the program. The application can be submitted through the Walmart Brand Portal website.
Provide Proof of USPTO Trademark Registration: Walmart will ask for proof of your trademark registration, such as a copy of your trademark certificate or a trademark registration number. You will also need to provide evidence that you have the right to use the trademark, such as a license agreement or a statement from the trademark owner.
Wait For Approval: After you have submitted your Brand Portal application, Walmart will review it and verify your trademark registration to ensure it is valid and active. This process can take several days or up to two weeks. If your application is approved, you will receive an email from Walmart with instructions on how to use the Brand Portal.
Add Product Information: Once your Brand Portal application has been approved, you can start adding product information to the Brand Portal. This includes adding product titles, descriptions, images, and other information about your products.
Monitor Your Trademark: Once you are enrolled in the Brand Portal, it is important to regularly monitor Walmart for any unauthorized use of your trademark. If you find any infringing listings, you can report them to Walmart using the Brand Portal’s reporting tools.
Keep Your Trademark Registration Up-To-Date: It is important to keep your trademark registration up-to-date and to renew it when necessary. If your trademark registration expires or is cancelled, Walmart may terminate your enrollment in the Brand Portal.
Do You Need Trademark Registration Assistance?
Protecting your brand is crucial in today’s competitive business environment. Your trademarks are more than just symbols or words; they represent your reputation, your quality, and your commitment to your customers. Ensuring these trademarks are secure and effectively managed is a complex process that requires specialized legal expertise.
Our team of experienced attorneys understands the intricacies of trademark law and is equipped to guide you through every step of the trademark process. From assessing the registrability of a trademark, filing an application with the USPTO, to enforcing your rights against infringers, we are prepared to provide comprehensive legal support tailored to your business needs.
But our services don’t stop at securing your trademarks. We believe in a proactive approach to intellectual property management. We offer ongoing monitoring services to help safeguard your brand from potential infringements and keep you informed of relevant developments in the marketplace.
Whether you’re a start-up looking to establish your first trademark or an established business dealing with complex trademark matters, our attorneys are committed to protecting your brand and supporting your business growth.
We encourage you to reach out to us today. Let’s discuss how we can help secure your business’s most valuable asset – your brand. Your trademark matters to us because your business matters to us. Trust us with your trademark needs, and together, we can build a stronger brand for your business.
