A brand can be misused long before the rights holder becomes aware of it. Counterfeit goods may appear through local traders, distributors, online marketplaces, social media accounts or websites using similar names, logos and product images.
Global Screenings provides brand protection research and investigation support for businesses reviewing suspected counterfeiting, unauthorized brand use, intellectual property concerns and related commercial activity. The scope can cover physical markets, online channels, companies, individuals and business relationships connected with the matter.
Investigating Threats to a Brand
Brand misuse can affect revenue, customer confidence, distribution relationships and the reputation of genuine products. Poor-quality counterfeit goods may also be mistaken for products supplied or approved by the legitimate brand owner.
A brand protection investigation may help identify:
- Businesses or individuals using a protected brand without authorization
- Suspected counterfeit products
- Online listings using copied brand names, logos or images
- Websites or domain names that may create confusion
- Social media accounts promoting questionable goods
- Distributors, sellers or other parties connected with the activity
- Previous litigation or public records involving the relevant parties
- Commercial relationships that may require further review
The purpose is to provide a clearer account of the available information and the people or businesses involved. Whether an activity amounts to legal infringement remains a matter for the rights holder and its legal advisers.
Brand Search and Verification
A brand search can help establish how a name, logo, product or business identity is being used in the market. The review may compare the questioned activity with information supplied by the rights holder and with available corporate, public and online records.
Depending on the agreed scope, the search may include:
- Brand name and logo searches
- Trademark-related information available through relevant records
- Company and business-name searches
- Domain-name research
- Website and online marketplace searches
- Social media research
- Product and packaging comparisons
- Public records connected with the businesses involved
Online Brand Monitoring and Research
Online misuse can spread quickly across websites, marketplaces, social platforms, video channels and blogs. Monitoring can help identify where a brand, product image or business identity appears outside the rights holder’s approved channels.
Online research may consider:
- Use of brand names and logos
- Brand colours and visual identity
- Domain names and associated websites
- Relevant IP-address or hosting information where available
- Online product listings
- Videos, blogs and other published content
- Social media accounts and activity
- Followers, linked profiles and visible business connections
- Online trading activity and website traffic indicators where available
Online information changes frequently. A listing may be removed, an account may be renamed or a website may move to another domain. Findings should therefore record the date, source and context in which the information was observed.
IPR Anti-Counterfeiting Due Diligence
Anti-counterfeiting due diligence examines the people, companies and commercial relationships connected with suspected counterfeit activity. It can support a brand owner that needs to understand who may be producing, supplying, distributing or selling the goods in question.
The review may include:
- Corporate registration and ownership research
- Director and shareholder searches
- Business-address verification
- Public record and litigation searches
- Online marketplace and website research
- Business affiliations and distribution links
- Reputation and media searches
- Available records connected with the sale or movement of goods
- Other information included in the authorized investigation scope
The research may identify links or inconsistencies that warrant closer examination. It cannot guarantee that every person, shipment, supplier or asset connected with counterfeit activity will be identified.
Trademark, Copyright, Design and Patent Concerns
Brand protection matters can involve more than a copied name. The questioned activity may relate to a trademark, copyright, product design, patent, packaging, image, publication or another intellectual property interest.
Research may be used to examine:
- Unauthorized use of a trademark or business identity
- Copied product packaging or designs
- Use of copyrighted images, videos or written material
- Goods presented as genuine products of the rights holder
- Businesses associated with manufacture, import, distribution or sale
- Previous intellectual property disputes or litigation
The existence, ownership and enforceability of an intellectual property right should be confirmed by the client and its legal advisers. Global Screenings provides research and investigation support rather than legal registration or infringement advice.
Goods Infringement and Market Examination
A market review can help document how suspected infringing goods are presented, sold and connected with the businesses involved.
Depending on the location and instructions, the work may include:
- Research into sellers and distributors
- Review of product descriptions and images
- Comparison with information supplied by the brand owner
- Identification of business names, addresses and contact details
- Review of commercial or distribution agreements included in the scope
- Recording available information about the source and movement of goods
A product’s authenticity should not be determined from appearance alone where technical examination, serial-number confirmation or expert product knowledge is required.
Trade Secrets and Confidential Business Information
A brand protection matter may also involve suspected misuse or disclosure of confidential business information, commercial methods, supplier details or trade secrets.
Where authorized and relevant, an investigation may examine:
- The people or companies connected with the concern
- Employment or business affiliations
- Conflicts of interest
- Publicly available commercial activity
- Related litigation or corporate records
- Documents and information included in the agreed instruction
The client and its legal advisers should determine whether the information qualifies as a protected trade secret and how any evidence should be preserved and used.
Brand Litigation and Dispute Support
Research findings may be used by a brand owner and its advisers when considering a complaint, commercial response or legal proceeding.
Litigation and dispute support may include:
- IPR litigation record checks
- Corporate and public record research
- Background information on the parties involved
- Business ownership and affiliation checks
- Reputation and media research
- Information connected with questioned goods or online activity
- Other investigation findings included in the instruction
For wider legal and commercial matters, the work may also be coordinated with our Dispute and Litigation Support service.
Defining the Investigation Scope
A useful brand protection assignment begins with clear information from the rights holder. This may include:
- The registered or claimed brand rights
- Approved logos, colours, packaging and product images
- Known genuine distributors or sellers
- The countries and marketplaces of concern
- Examples of suspected counterfeit or unauthorized activity
- Known websites, profiles, companies or individuals
- The questions the investigation should address
- Any deadline connected with a complaint, transaction or legal matter
A clear scope makes it easier to separate relevant findings from unrelated online references or legitimate businesses with similar names.
International Brand Protection
Intellectual property rights and enforcement procedures vary by country. A trademark registered in one jurisdiction may not provide the same protection elsewhere, and access to company, court or marketplace information also differs between locations.
Research may be considered alongside applicable national trademark, copyright, design, patent, consumer-protection and anti-counterfeiting laws, as well as international reference materials associated with organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and World Trade Organization.
The applicable legal framework, registration status and enforcement options should be confirmed by the client’s intellectual property or local legal advisers.
Important Limitations
Global Screenings provides research and investigation findings from the authorized scope. The service does not register intellectual property rights, issue legal opinions, determine infringement, seize goods or commence legal proceedings on behalf of the rights holder.
Online, corporate and public records may be incomplete, restricted, removed or recorded under different names. A search that does not identify relevant activity does not prove that no infringement or counterfeit activity exists.
Final decisions on complaints, enforcement, legal proceedings and commercial action remain with the client and its appointed legal advisers.
