A Letter of Authorization is a license agreement that is entered into between an owner of a trademark or design patent or copyright and a third party to authorize that third party (licensee) to use the Intellectual Property (IP), in exchange for consideration. Such an agreement outlines the ways in which the licensee may use the property owned by the licensor.

What are the key terms that must be present in every IP licensing agreement submitted to Amazon?

• 'Licensor'–The company/brand providing the rights to intellectual property
• 'Licensee'–The company/brand receiving the rights to use the intellectual property.
• ‘Grant’–The intellectual property being licensed and the scope of rights granted
• ‘Geographic Scope’–The specific territory or territories where use is authorized (may be worldwide)
• ‘Term’–The duration of the authorization (may be perpetual)

What are some important checks while submitting a licensing documentation to Amazon?

• Format checks - PDF Documents, Scanned images of PDF, Word (Self declarations are only acceptable if you are the Brand owner), and Screenshots of email from the domain of Company holding rights to the Protected Brand.
• Component checks - Letter Head from the Company holding rights to the Protected Brand, Body of the LOA having all of the essential terms, and Signatories.

What documents are not acceptable as Letter of Authorization?

• Invoices.
• Inventory documents.
• Distribution rights / Reseller agreements.
• Receipts from online or physical (brick-and-mortar) retailers.
• Order confirmations (online and hard copies) and packing slips.
• Commercial or customs invoices
• Bills of lading
• Sales orders, purchase orders, quotes, or pro-forma invoices

Where can I learn more about Letter of Authorization?

Please feel free to review the help pages below for additional detail on LOAs and IP policy.

• Letter of Authorization
• Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers