What Is Online Brand Protection?

• Published date: 30 June 2023
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Trademark, Advertising, Marketing & Branding, Social Media
• Law Firm: Potter Clarkson
• Author: Ms Edwina FitzHugh

Online brand protection is the umbrella term for the combination of strategies, activities, and measures businesses must take to safeguard their brand's reputation, intellectual property, and customer base in the digital environment.

Protecting a brand online involves actively monitoring and enforcing all your brand assets and other brand-related content online to prevent other people from using, infringing, or counterfeiting any aspect of your brand without your permission.

WHY SHOULD YOU TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR BRANDS ONLINE?

Taking extra steps to protect your brands online may look like another job to add to what will already be a long list. However, from a commercial, financial, and reputational perspective, it is absolutely crucial.

Firstly, you need to secure your brand's reputation. You have worked hard to build your reputation. However, as the internet offers anyone the vehicle to create and distribute their own content, their efforts could well involve the misuse of your brand assets or the distribution and sale of counterfeit versions of your products. Unfortunately, flooding the market with poor quality or even - in the case of pharmaceutical and food and drink products - dangerous versions of your products will destroy your reputation in a fraction of the time it took to build it.

By taking positive anti-counterfeiting measures, you can identify and combat counterfeiters, protect your customers, and preserve the quality and legitimacy of your products. Being seen to act will also strengthen your customer's trust in your brands. It demonstrates just how seriously you take their loyalty and the lengths you are prepared to go to ensure your customers always receive the quality they deserve.

Aside from the reputational damage counterfeit goods and false information can create, you also have a huge financial risk to mitigate.

Brand abuse, counterfeiting, and reputational damage will have an enormous financial impact on a brand owner. The sale of counterfeit products will impact your own sales revenues. It could force your valued customers into the arms of your competitors which will have additional long-term financial implications. It could even lead to lengthy and expensive legal battles.

These legal battles could also have a compliance aspect. Marketing, advertising, and selling your products requires you to observe the legal and compliance guidelines imposed in the different markets you trade in. If you fall foul of these, you could find...