Counterfeit goods are
primarily associated with informal markets and hidden supply chains.
Increasingly, however, they are also being offered through online marketplaces,
social media pages, sponsored advertisements and accounts designed to imitate
the original brand owner.
The digital environment
provides counterfeiters with speed, anonymity and access to large numbers of
consumers across multiple jurisdictions. For brand owners, the consequences
extend beyond lost sales, as ounterfeit products can damage a brand’s reputation,
undermine consumer trust and create serious safety risks, particularly where
cosmetics, medicines, food products or electronics are involved. Responding
effectively to these threats therefore requires a structured online enforcement
strategy.
1. Secure and organise your
IP rights
Effective enforcement
begins with proper registration. Trade marks should be protected in every
territory where the brand operates, manufactures or sells its products, as well
as in jurisdictions where it may face a significant counterfeiting risk. Relevant
designs and copyright-protected materials should also be identified and
properly documented as part of the brand’s intellectual property portfolio.
As a brand owner, you
should maintain an enforcement file that includes registration certificates,
authorized product images, packaging details, lists of official distributors as
well as examples that show how genuine products differ from counterfeits. Having
this information readily available allows the brand owner to respond more
efficiently when an online platform, customs authority or other enforcement
body requests evidence of ownership or infringement. Speed is particularly
important in the online environment, where infringing listings can quickly
reach consumers or disappear before further action is taken.
2. Monitor regularly
Brands should regularly
monitor marketplaces, social media, search engines, domain registrations and
online advertisements. Such monitoring should also cover misspellings, altered
logos or variations thereof, translated versions or suspicious combinations
such as the product name together with “replica” or “inspired”.
During monitoring, it is
crucial to preserve any available evidence, including screenshots, URLs, seller
details, dates, prices, product descriptions and payment or delivery
information. This step is often overlooked, but it is important as information
about the seller or the scale of the activity may disappear once the content is
removed. Properly preserved evidence may later support civil proceedings,
customs action, criminal complaints or coordinated enforcement against repeat
offenders.
3. Be aware of available
mechanisms
In the European Union,
for example, the Digital Services Act (DSA) has significantly strengthened
notice-and-action procedures by requiring online platforms to implement clear,
user-friendly mechanisms for reporting illegal content, including counterfeit
listings. Once a sufficiently substantiated notice is submitted, platforms are
expected to act promptly and provide feedback to the notifier. The DSA also
introduces enhanced transparency obligations, such as requiring platforms to
explain their content moderation decisions and publish regular reports on their
enforcement activities.
For online marketplaces
specifically, the DSA imposes “Know Your Business Customer” (KYBC) obligations.
These require platforms to collect, verify and retain key information about
traders before allowing them to sell goods or services. This includes details
such as the trader’s name, contact information, identification documents and,
where applicable, business registration data. The aim is to improve the
traceability of sellers and make it more difficult for counterfeiters to
operate anonymously or re-enter the platform after being removed.
4. Consider further legal
action
For serious or repeated
infringements, brand owners may also consider warning letters, domain-name
proceedings, civil litigation, interim measures and complaints to the competent
authorities. Customs recordals can also help enforcement authorities identify
and detain suspicious shipments before counterfeit goods enter the market.
Brand owners should provide practical product-identification guidance and
maintain clear contact details for customs authorities.
Online counterfeiting is
rarely eliminated through a single action. The objective is to make
infringement harder, less profitable and easier to detect. Brands combining
registration, monitoring, evidence preservation, platform enforcement, customs
cooperation and targeted legal action are better positioned to protect both
their market and their customers.
For more information,
you can contact us at info@ip-legals.com.
