Almost all of us can remember when the online marketplace was born. It happened almost overnight.
No longer did you have to travel to the closest ‘big town’ or shopping centre to obtain those desired but elusive goods that you couldn’t just buy at a local shop. The ‘click-purchase’ phenomena rapidly spread from non-existence to becoming a new way of life which irreversibly changed consumer browsing and shopping behaviour.
With no need for shoppers to spend hours browsing, shopping from place to place or queuing, the objects of their desire could now be found and purchased within mere minutes. Consumer expectations were changed forever.
Much of the success of the online marketplace can be attributed to the sophisticated and impressively efficient logistics network. Goods can be picked, packed and dispatched at supersonic speeds, meaning consumers can receive their orders the next day. For some online marketplaces, even next-day delivery is simply too slow, and ‘premium’ delivery options have presented a sought after value-added service to meet consumers’ new-found impatience. Consequently, many online marketplaces have invested heavily in cutting-edge technology to evolve their logistics and fulfilment networks, culminating in regional shipping hubs, all-hours delivery and even drones. The shared aim until now has been to cut delivery times, although interestingly, the recent movement is towards optimising sustainable and environmentally-friendly delivery options, rather than the focus being solely upon speed.
As we now know, the expansion of online shopping has had an adverse effect on our local high streets; it has expanded beyond luxury items to grocery and everyday items, delivered at the touch of a button. Times have moved on.
The intrinsic relationship between shoppi
ng and technology has brought about the growing presence of advertising and purchasing functionalities on popular social media platforms. ’Facebook Marketplace’ is a well-known sales channel for users of the platform. However, many brand owners are behind the curve with the growing trend of drop-shipping and paid promotional content. For example, via ‘TikTok Shop’, sellers often harness the power of ‘influencers’ alongside time-limited discounts to generate demand and sales.
This growing shopping trend is particularly popular with younger consumers, many of whom are becoming accustomed to purchasing goods at significant discounts with little transparency as to the origin or seller of said goods. This method of shopping is expected to grow at an exponential rate, far outstripping the pace at which the respective platforms are able to regulate sellers or to build effective enforcement mechanisms for rights holders to challenge intellectual property infringements.
Unsurprisingly, the online marketplace is not without its issues. The digital environment is a perfect habitat for criminal behaviour. The internet is massive, confusing and relatively ungoverned. It transcends national borders, and the technology upon which it is based is moving faster than any laws that can purport to regulate it. This includes the regulation of cybercrime, and in particular, of online fraud and counterfeiting, which often serves as a ‘safe’ income stream for criminals who operate at little personal risk or consequence.
It must be said that most online marketplace sellers are legitimate businesses or individuals who are trying to connect with buyers in a quick, convenient and honest way. However, hidden amongst the masses are sellers of counterfeit goods, often
of inferior quality, displayed with bargain prices. These ‘unmissable’ deals take advantage of the established delivery networks of the respective marketplace, and can lull unsuspecting consumers into purchasing counterfeit goods without a second thought. The presence of these ‘rogue’ companies or individuals has a negative effect on consumer confidence, which impacts upon genuine sellers, and the online marketplace itself. The consequence may be that some consumers will choose to turn away from the convenience of online shopping, and head back to the high street, where they feel more assured. This trend represents a hurdle for the big online retailers, although it will benefit the traditional high street retailers, and halt or slow down the demise of our town centres.
To provide assurance to their customers, some online retailers, most notably Amazon and eBay, have introduced Intellectual Property infringement programmes to curb the spate of online counterfeits which have made their platforms unsafe and uninviting to both sellers and buyers. Amazon’s IP enforcement tool is known as the ‘Amazon Brand Registry’ and eBay’s platform is known as ‘VeRO’ (Verified Rights Owner Programme). These tools offer IP rights holders the ability to identify and report infringing listings, permitting scalable enforcement of illicit products and accounts, while minimising the impact posed to brands and consumers alike. By actively participating in such schemes, brand holders can build vital commercial relationships with the platforms, often resulting in a ‘brand manager’ being assigned to the retailers account, operating with an understanding of a brand or a portfolio of brands, and maximising the effect of the ‘take down’ options available.
The procedure for a legitimate brand owner to invoke these initiatives is relatively simple. To facilitate an unauthorised seller being taken down and blocked, an online form has to be completed. However, in order to qualify for either of the Amazon or eBay schemes, you must be able to verify that you are the legitimate Intellectual Property Rights holder. Beyond this, the tools are dependent upon the quality and volume of information uploaded by rights holders. While initially onerous, the more information uploaded to the platforms, including full details of relevant Trade Mark registrations, logo images, genuine product images, links to genuine online sales channels and product IDs, the more likely infringing content will be taken down quickly. As such, the Trade Mark attorneys at Albright IP strongly recommend securing Registration for your core Trade Mark rights at the earliest opportunity to maximise the enforcement opportunities that will be available to you.
It seems almost certain that bad-actors will jump ship to platforms with comparatively relaxed brand protection measures, compared to those available on ‘mainstream’ online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay. As such, rights holders must remain attuned with consumers’ online shopping patterns and trends, and proactively enforce their rights online wherever infringements appear.
As Albright IP represent owners of registered Trade Marks, we frequently receive emails from the Amazon Verification team with codes to pass on to our clients. Without a valid code, Amazon will not verify a seller, and unauthorised products will be prevented from being sold via the platform. This barrier to unapproved sellers is a great boom to genuine businesses, and provides an assurance to the customers.
However, online marketplaces are not setting themselves up as an alternative court. They will only look to protect or enforce rights that are legally established, i.e. to take note and respect Registered Trade Marks.
The initiatives described can afford protection to the online consumer and the genuine online retailer. However, to bring the schemes into operation, comprehensive Trade Mark protection is key, in conjunction with vigilant monitoring.
The team of experienced Trade Mark Attorneys at Albright IP can offer advice and guidance to support retailing in the online marketplace, with the assurance of your Trade Marks being registered, to take full advantage of the enforcement options available. Please get in touch.
