Project Zero: Amazon firms up plan to eliminate fake products on its site

Amazon is taking a new initiative called Project Zero in a bid to get rid of counterfeit products on its website. Once approved, Project Zero will allow the brands to directly flag and delete fake listings themselves.

As per the current process, companies need to forward a request to Amazon if they spot fake versions of their products. The e-commerce company then evaluates the claims and removes the counterfeit product. The process is quite similar to the copyright takedown process of YouTube, a tech platform that often sees false or misleading content. Amazon too has long struggled to deal with false or misleading information on its platform and removing fake products has proven quite complicated.

Now, with Project Zero, Amazon hopes to boost its efforts to eliminate fakes on its site. In its initial stages, Project Zero is going to be an invite-only programme where only the chosen brands will have the power to remove fake products. According to Amazon, it is according brands the power as it believes that “the combined strengths of Amazon and brands can drive counterfeits to zero”. The company also cautions that the “brands must maintain a high bar for accuracy in order to maintain their Project Zero privileges.”

The company will impart training to Project Zero users and will actively monitor the cases to prevent any abuse of the platform. Amazon’s Project Zero will feature self-service counterfeit removal for brands and automated scans of logos as well as trademarks on its site. In addition, Amazon is also offering product serialization service for companies under which a unique code will be put on products during manufacturing which will allow Amazon to ascertain the authenticity of the product before it leaves a warehouse.

Moreover, to ensure speedy redressal, the brands joining the Project Zero will be able to delete the products that they deem fake without reporting it to Amazon first. In turn, Amazon will process this information to strengthen its own automated processes.

Amazon India