The company has been testing it with roughly 15 brands for a few months, and will now start inviting selected additional companies to participate. Amazon said it wants all brand owners to join the program eventually but declined to specify a timeline.
As part of Project Zero, Amazon also is including a tool that generates a unique code for each product unit that the brand can print onto existing packaging or attach onto items using a sticker. The codes can then be scanned to ensure a product’s authenticity when it enters an Amazon warehouse.
In shifting some monitoring duties and authority to brands themselves, Amazon is taking an unusual step. Other tech companies use outside contractors to help monitor their platforms but don’t generally let users remove content. Amazon, for example, has required brand owners to report suspected counterfeits to an internal team that would investigate and decide whether or not to remove them.
