An increasing proportion of major brands experience trademark infringement year-over-year1. As of 2020, 85% of brands saw infringement1 with a large proportion occurring online through various strategies, including counterfeit product sales, use of trademarks in domain names and social media handles, or impersonation of a brand owner. With the continuous increase of online infringement, it is important to know how to respond when your brand is impacted.
Examples of Common IP Infringement
As the business world evolves, so do IP infringement scams. The COVID-19 pandemic impacts the way business is conducted and e-commerce continues to expand. In response, bad actors have identified effective ways to capitalize on others’ intellectual property. Some recent examples include:
Scam Recruiting
With a large proportion of the workforce conducting business remotely, there has been an increase in scam recruiting sites. Bad actors use these sites to identify unsuspecting victims and conduct fake interviews as a way to collect personally identifiable information (PII) for malicious purposes, which include opening financial accounts and obtaining fake IDs.
Imposter Goods
With the number of digital platforms increasing and demand for certain goods outweighing the supply, counterfeiters have ample opportunity to dupe consumers into buying sham products. The US State Department estimates that counterfeit and pirated goods result in $29 billion of displaced sales annually2. Common sham products include sanitizers, masks, and pharma-based goods.
Free Gift Cards
Another common online scam involves using infringing domain names to host websites offering free gift cards from major retail stores. These sites require visitors to fill out surveys that include PII in order to receive their prize. The collected information is then sold to spammers, credit card thieves, and others committing various forms of identity theft.
Options for Fighting IP Infringement
When faced with IP Infringement, there are various approaches to fight violations. The course of action is dependent on the desired end result – content removal, domain suspension, or domain transfer.
To ensure your IP is protected, it is critical to have an up-to-date IP strategy with customized internet monitoring. To learn more about current risks and opportunities, contact FairWinds Partners at info@fairwindspartners.com.
1https://clarivate.com/compumark/news/trademark-infringement-rising-year-on-year-says-compumark-report/
2https://www.state.gov/intellectual-property-enforcement/