In the simplest possible terms Brand Protection is the act of prevention against brand infringement.

So by engaging in Brand Protection, you are seeking to prevent someone from infringing your brand illegally by using your intellectual property and/or brand name.

But what is the ‘intellectual property’ we talk of – and is it really all that intellectual? Well no, not necessarily.

Intellectual property is simply the legal framework that covers anything you produce that is a ‘creation of the mind’ – which could be an invention, artistic work, or product.

Your intellectual property could be a thousand-page novel or a new type of plug for a sink. Or it could simply be the logos you use to represent your brands.

The intellectual property ‘rights’ that guard your assets are the same as the rights you have over any other kind of property. They allow you to benefit from your own work.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, no it isn’t. Brand Protection isn’t as easy as simply knowing your rights, because there are just so many ways that your brand can come under attack.

So before we move on to the various ways you can protect your brand and intellectual property, it will pay to take a few moments to consider some of the many ways that infringements can happen.

There are many other types of infringement you need to consider.

Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement refers to the unauthorized copying, distribution, display or performance of any of your works protected by copyright. Copyright is a core type of intellectual property covering original works such as literary, video, photographic, audio or other art forms.

Trademark infringement

Trademark infringement, on the other hand, is the unauthorized use of your trademark on goods and services. Trademarks are a badge of origin and anything that can be used to differentiate your products or services from others often falls within this. Trademarks usually take the form of words, logos, patterns, and shapes associated with your brand.

Patent theft or patent infringement

Then there is patent theft or patent infringement – the act of making or selling your patented product without your permission. A patent is an exclusive right that can be granted to you by government authorities for a new invention – i.e. a product or process that is original or provides a new solution to a problem.

Design infringement

Design infringement is similar to patent infringement and usually involves the manufacture of goods using patented design features to create a similar unauthorized version of your product. According to a report by the UK government Intellectual Property Office, a staggering 98.3% of design rights owners say they have experience of design infringement. It is a particular problem in the fashion industry, where so-called fast fashion outlets often produce lookalikes of new range launches.

When you enter the world of Brand Protection, you’re also likely to hear the term intellectual property infringement. This is the umbrella term that covers all types of IP infringement, including copyright and trademark infringement. Intellectual property infringement also covers infringement of your design patents or theft of your trade secrets.

We don’t really need to tell you. Ignoring these threats is not going to be a good idea – online platforms are unlikely to fight in your corner without your support and, left to their own devices, will exacerbate the problem.

You’re going to lose money. Your reputation is going to suffer. People are going to outright steal your ideas and come back and do it again.

But how do you even begin to quantify what that really means for your business – in real terms?

There’s plenty of research out there that will help you build your business case.

According to a recent study by Sapio Research, for example, 52% of US consumers say they have lost trust in a brand after unintentionally purchasing counterfeit products online.

That’s a huge potential hit to your brand.

Further Sapio research says that this lack of trust has a direct effect on buying behavior. A separate survey found that as many as 76% of consumers are less likely to buy products from a brand that is regularly associated with counterfeit goods.

The European Economic and Social Committee says that the probable overall value of trade in counterfeit products worldwide is likely to be between EUR 600 billion (UN) and close to EUR 1 trillion. A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), meanwhile, says that the value of imported fake goods worldwide currently stands at over $500 billion annually.

Clearly, the impact of counterfeit goods on brand value, buying habits and even wider societies and national economies is huge.
If you want to know more about the wider economic impact of counterfeiting, you can find out more in the full Sapio report.

IP portfolio

Firstly, if you don’t already have the expertise in-house, you need to get some good IP portfolio advice that will help you to manage and protect your IP portfolio effectively. This might include performing clearance searches to screen new brands or dealing with trademark and design registration to secure your brand in all key markets. Bottom line: you will need to manage your intellectual property by ensuring it’s fully protected against any possible local objections to maximize its potential monetary value.

Business intelligence

Secondly, you will need to set up a mechanism for data collection and gathering business intelligence. This will also need to work across many e-commerce platforms and geographies. How much do you know about where your brand is being infringed online? Which products are most affected? In which regions? And where is the most traffic going? Gathering this kind of intelligence should be the cornerstone of your Brand Protection strategy and will help you to prioritize effectively.

Prioritization and threat analysis

With this kind of information and intelligence at your disposal, it’s possible that you’re also going to feel a little overwhelmed. This means your strategy is also going to need a level of prioritization and threat analysis that will help you manage and target your IP protection and anti-piracy/anti-counterfeiting efforts effectively.

IP enforcement

In addition, you will need to think about IP enforcement. On the simplest level, this will mean putting a mechanism in place to notify online marketplaces when you have identified an infringement by someone selling on their platform.

Typically, you will also need to have a tried and tested means of contacting infringing parties directly. Not all infringers are necessarily criminals, some may even be ardent fans of your brand. They may just be failing to comply with your brand guidelines when reselling products. So it also pays to have a ‘friendly’ way to contact these sellers and keep them in line.

Online advertising monitoring

As part of this strategy, it may be relevant for your brand to carry out extensive online advertising monitoring. This will help you identify where your ads are shown in undesirable locations and deliver the intelligence you need to rectify it.

Social media monitoring

Social media monitoring is equally important. This is because it often reveals networks of bad sellers that spread their influence through popular social media channels. Recently, a case was recorded where the discovery of a single Instagram account promoting counterfeit goods led to the exposure of a network of 531 social media accounts. This network had a combined total of 716,645 followers, 14,143 infringing URLs and 7,138 infringing listings on online marketplaces.

Network of partners

If you want to pursue your anti-counterfeiting strategy to the fullest possible extent, you will also need to put in place a network of ‘offline’ partners (such as law enforcement or government customs agencies) that you work with to chase down the most persistent offenders.
For some brands, though not all, this course of action is likely to lead you towards IP enforcement and Brand Protection litigation. This will often be the final piece in the Brand Protection strategy for those brands who pursue it.

The fact is, gaining visibility over your operations is too complex to accomplish effectively without this kind of technology. Fortunately, there are advanced software products you can buy that will help you to achieve your goals.

A note about how these are products are presented. If you are a large brand and already have teams combating brand infringement, you may just need self-serve products that you can use and implement yourself.

If you don’t have a department looking after Brand Protection, you might want to consider getting a fully managed service run by an outsourced team that will help you define your strategy and get the best out of the technology.

Depending on your needs and resources, you may prefer a combination of these two approaches.

Whatever your situation, as a baseline you should be looking to include Online Brand Protection and monitoring tools that identify online brand abuse and IP infringement.

Typically these tools work by scouring or ‘scraping’ the Internet. This process will help you uncover damaging threats to your brand on e-commerce marketplaces, social media, websites, 3D printing sites, app stores, mobile apps, and paid search.

Online Brand Protection monitoring tools should also be able to help you identify the most prolific or financially damaging infringers and prioritize them for enforcement.