Intellectual property is considered to be the creation of the mind, so for a trademark it consists of the brand name, logo, inventions, designs, images, texts, slogans, domain names, and product names. Once a trademark registers these elements, they are protected by trademark law which makes it illegal for third parties to copy or use them without the trademark owner’s consent.
Developing a strong brand and positioning it in chosen markets requires significant innovation and resources, so protecting a brand’s intellectual property is key – and surely worth protecting… isn’t it? But what threatens a brand’s intellectual property as the digital world expands?
What are the threats to the intellectual property of brands?
There are five key threats to a brand’s intellectual property croatia whatsapp data that are becoming more prevalent in parallel with today’s digital ecosystem. Understanding these dangers is the first step to implementing a successful online business strategy. Let’s look at these five main threats (which are making intellectual property protection a necessity) in more detail:
Counterfeit goods refer to the trade in fake branded products that are designed to look like the real thing. This is achieved through the unauthorized use of intellectual property. It is an illicit market that is projected to generate over US$3 trillion by 2022. These counterfeits damage the revenue and reputation of official brands, and are often made from low-quality or even harmful materials and ingredients, which can pose a danger to the end user.
Counterfeiters promote these fake branded products through various digital channels. They often appear alongside authentic products on digital marketplaces or social media, but despite the efforts of certain platforms, counterfeiters constantly adopt new strategies to avoid detection by product or brand monitoring technologies, such as blurring or removing the brand logo, or misspelling the brand or product name, ensuring that it remains easily recognizable to online shoppers.
Rogue websites are created with the intent to deceive online shoppers, often by using intellectual property without the consent of the brand owner, imitating the design and layout, and adopting domain names that may differ from the authentic name by a single letter or word.
Approximately 18,000 fraudulent websites are created every day, many of which facilitate the sale of counterfeit products or the theft of financial or personal information through malware. There are several ways to identify these fake sites, although they are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect, not only for brand owners, but also for online shoppers.
Social media spoofing is a form of digital identity theft where a malicious actor steals a brand’s identity with the intent of scamming users across various social media networks. In fact, in 2022, 40% of social media breaches were related to brand impersonation, or spoofing. This can include creating a page or account that often shares access to fraudulent websites, or directly promotes counterfeit products.
Copyright piracy refers to the unauthorized/illegal sharing or duplication of audiovisual content such as movies, series, music, software, video games or editorial content. This content is often shared through social media or on streaming or direct download (DDL) websites. The value of audiovisual content, in particular the rights to live sporting events, is very high in value and has a very short shelf life, making the speed and detection of these infringements a paramount factor.