Anti-counterfeiting online: an introduction

The covid-19 pandemic, global product shortages and national and international economic crises have seen consumers flocking to the Internet to purchase goods and services at cheaper-than-ever rates. Unfortunately, this switch has been accompanied by a surge in online counterfeiting, piracy and fraud. Brand owners now face the dilemma of figuring out where and when to channel their resources given that their goods are available across an ever-growing range of platforms, each with its own rules and procedures to navigate. Add in the fact that counterfeit technology is constantly evolving, and it is almost impossible for them to stay on top of online monitoring and enforcement efforts.

Here, we provide a rundown of domestic digital marketplaces that IP owners around the world should have on their anti-counterfeiting enforcement radars. We then share data and exclusive insights from Amazon and Mercado Libre to reveal what two of the world’s biggest e-commerce platforms are doing to help prevent IP infringement and the trade in fake goods.

Turning the spotlight on Asia, we examine 13 of the continent’s most popular e-commerce platforms to reveal the types of counterfeiting activity being reported there and the steps being taken to tackle this. We then go behind the scenes at Alibaba and Tokopedia specifically to hear directly from their respective vice presidents of risk management and global IP enforcement. The pair reveal the challenges that their platforms face and the latest enforcement programmes on offer to brand owners here.

Finally, Daniel Shapiro, senior vice president of brand relationships and strategic partnerships at Red Points, reflects on the rise of social media as an e-commerce channel, providing key takeaways for monitoring and enforcement in this fast-moving landscape.