Quote-tweeted, a discussion of Amazon Brand Registry's new policy of allowing owners of pending trademark applications to register. That is, trademarks that aren't yet registered.

Perhaps they're making this change because it takes so long to get a trademark registered, but it's problematic because:

1. Many applications are on an intent-to-use basis. The applicant might not even be using the trademark yet, and can keep the application pending for years.

2. Even applicants for trademarks that are in use can be problematic, because many of them are purely ornamental uses.

In short, I'm not sure allowing people to takedown others' merch based on pending USPTO applications is a net positive for Amazon or its customers.

But by all means, if you know have trademark rights and your USPTO application is still pending, go ahead and take advantage of the policy.