In this digital age, a registered trademark holds more value than one could ever imagine in e-Commerce industry.
The global marketplace is rapidly changing. Brick & mortar stores are slowly reducing in numbers and going online to do their trade.
We won’t go into the pros and cons of e-commerce as I’m sure most of you would know by now what are the perks and why businesses are going fully digital.
Today, we’d like to cover on a specific area of e-Commerce.
More importantly, what can you do to protect your brand in the online marketplace?
Going online is good because you are able to reach customers whom are physically far away from you, such as from other states or even other countries.
But with this jump in exposure, you are also therefore exposing your intellectual property (brand, product photographs, copy writing) to bad faith traders or sellers.
Fortunately, most e-Commerce platforms have some form of programme to combat this.
A brand registry; where IP owners can declare legal ownership of an IP, or an infringement platform where one can easily file complaint and more importantly, remove the infringing listing(s).
Platforms such as Amazon have what they call the Amazon Brand Registry, Alibaba Group has IPP Platform.
Some e-Commerce platforms offer better privileges to sellers whom are also IP owners through programmes whereby IP owners are required to produce a valid IP filing or registration details. Such an example would be Lazada’s Lazmall.
A registered trademark will give you;
- Lawful protection of your brand from copycats and unauthorized use
- Exclusive access and advantage in most digital marketplaces due to strict listing requirements
- Buyers are more confident & comfortable dealing with brands with registered trademarks.
- Enforcement made easy. With legal documents like certificate/ filing documents proof of ownership is almost conclusive.
Need help to register your IP with e-Commerce platforms, or remove an infringing listing and other related matters? Contact us