Beyond Takedowns: Disrupting the Business of Counterfeiting
A new brand protection strategy focuses on identifying seller networks and measuring customer impact, moving past simple listing removals.
By Letizia Giugliano
2 min readHuman-Edited, AI-Assisted
The fight against online counterfeiting is evolving beyond individual listing takedowns. Rights holders are now adopting strategies that target the underlying commercial operations, recognizing that artificial intelligence can both aid detection and empower counterfeiters to quickly regenerate their online presence. This shift emphasizes understanding seller networks and the actual impact on customer exposure to counterfeit goods, as discussed in a recent webinar featuring experts from MarqVision, Katalyst Advisory, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce [IPWatchdog].
The Persistent Challenge of Online Counterfeiting
Traditional brand protection programs often remove thousands of infringing listings, yet the commercial operations behind them frequently remain intact. Counterfeit sellers commonly reappear under new accounts or storefronts, creating a persistent 'whack-a-mole' challenge for brands. This issue is compounded by artificial intelligence, which can accelerate both the detection of infringement by rights holders and the generation of new listings by counterfeiters [IPWatchdog]. This dynamic necessitates a move beyond simply counting removed listings to understanding the broader commercial impact on intellectual property.
“The quality and organization of the information supplied can matter as much as the number of reports submitted.”
— Kaleigh Miller
Prioritizing Commercial Results and Customer Exposure
For in-house counsel and brand protection leaders, the critical question is how to achieve meaningful commercial results from enforcement activities. Kaleigh Miller of MarqVision suggests focusing on infringements that customers are most likely to encounter and purchase. Key performance indicators include search visibility, units available, and units sold. Prioritizing these areas offers a more useful explanation of enforcement priorities to management than a raw count of notices, demonstrating a cost-conscious approach to budget allocation [IPWatchdog].
Implementing a Triage Approach to Enforcement
Adopting a triage approach means making strategic choices, acknowledging that budgets and opportunities for escalation are limited. Miller advises concentrating resources on listings appearing prominently in search results, rather than obscure storefronts. This discipline extends to seeking intervention from platforms or law enforcement: escalating every problem can dilute the ability to focus on the most consequential issues. The practical task for counsel is to connect enforcement priorities to customer exposure and commercial harm, justifying additional investment in specific sellers or networks [IPWatchdog].
Measuring Impact and Global Compliance Trends
The effectiveness of this strategy is measured by its impact on the customer experience. An anonymized activewear campaign across 19 Chinese platforms reported approximately 179,000 listing removals and 319 store removals, with another 567 stores in the strike process. More significantly, the counterfeit share of Taobao and Tmall search results dropped from 96% to 15% [IPWatchdog]. This demonstrates how identifying seller networks and reporting these relationships to platforms can support broader action to reduce a network's overall presence. While MarqVision reported a 95% compliance rate for reports to Chinese platforms, compared to 94% globally, the median time for removal can vary, with some platforms acting within days and others taking substantially longer. This ongoing challenge shapes current patent news in brand protection strategies.
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