As is known, in the modern era trade in goods and/or services can not only be done through conventional means but trade can also be done through electronic commerce (e-commerce). Various facilities are offered through e-commerce so that the activity is much in demand by public because consumers are given the convenience to buy goods using only electronic devices such as computer, laptop and handphone.
Then, we need to realize that trading through e-commerce has both good and bad effects for business people. The good impact is that business people can sell their goods easily to consumers and consumers can also buy the products of business people very easily so that the transaction of both parties will be faster. However, the bad effect is that many parties are not responsible for selling counterfeit goods by using other people’s trademarks on purpose for their own benefit through e-commerce. This has become a very serious problem for business people in various countries, especially in the United States where many counterfeit products are circulating in the market and are detrimental to entrepreneurs.
In connection with the foregoing, the losses incurred due to counterfeit goods are most felt by one of the multinational electronic trading companies from the United States, namely Amazon. Amazon has experienced many problems related to the large number of counterfeit goods being sold on their site. In a few years Amazon has had difficulty dealing with complaints from business people whose goods are heavily falsified and sold freely on Amazon.com.
With many complaints from Amazon’s partners, finally on February 28, 2019, Amazon launched a new program called “Project Zero” which was created to combat counterfeiting of goods and empower original marks. Project Zero is a combination of technology, machine learning and innovation with sophisticated knowledge of marks where mark owners can detect counterfeit goods using their marks. Furthermore, this Project Zero program also makes it easier for business players as well as mark owners to be able to directly act on and delete seller data that falsifies their goods without having to report to Amazon.
In addition, Amazon’s Project Zero program also encourages businesses to immediately register their marks because only products with registered marks can use the Project Zero program. The eradication of counterfeit goods is not only aimed at businesses, but Project Zero is also beneficial for consumers because consumers are no longer worried about buying counterfeit goods because with this program all products will have a unique code that marks the authenticity of the product.
Amazon’s Project Zero program is welcomed by businesspeople because it proves that Amazon is committed to protecting entrepreneurs’ marks by eradicating counterfeit goods to circulate on their sites. The hope is that with Project Zero, Amazon will be able to completely eradicate the circulation and sale of counterfeit goods on their websites and facilitate businessmen in protecting their marks.
Source:
- https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/amazon-project-zero accessed on March 11, 2019.
