Cybersecurity firm, RiskIQ, reported that Black Friday scams have been on the rise significantly since 2016. Not only do consumers and product marketers need to be wary of the usual suspects (i.e. Amazon, Alibaba, eBay), but fake mobile applications are also a serious concern. According to tests run by RiskIQ, a search of popular retail brand names in conjunction with the term “Black Friday,” resulted in over 200 malicious apps. The firm’s full assessment revealed over 6,600 mobile apps were illegitimate; offering holiday shopping deals that were in reality, a scam.

Additionally, last year nearly a quarter of counterfeits purchased by millennials were done via social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram; thus, monitoring these platforms is essential to brand protection and a successful holiday shopping season.

Whether you are a shopper or a seller, here are some keys to identifying counterfeits online:

Deep discounts. A deal that is too good to be true is likely just that. If you can purchase a big    brand product like MAC lipstick or BEATS by DRE at a deep discount, the product is likely a fake.

Shipping from China. Products shipping directly from China can be a red flag, as most (not all) legitimate U.S. products are shipped from U.S. distribution/fulfillment centers.

Unverified third-party sellers. Most reputable online sellers also have their own product websites (e.g. snuggiestore.com). Do a web search prior to purchase to find out whether the seller is the same as the one listed on Amazon, and whether there is a major price difference in the products.

Typically, you won’t know if you purchased a fake until you have received your shipment. Signs to look for are:

Packaging that is flimsy or has misspelled words.

Electronics that do not have the UL (Underwriters Laboratory). This is particularly concerning as counterfeit electronics can be a safety hazard.

No country of origin or manufacturer contact information on either the packaging or the product itself.

Policing the sale of goods online can be a daunting and time-consuming task for product marketers – especially if a product is being heavily counterfeited. It also doesn’t help that each marketplace has a different system (some more user-friendly than others) for reporting and ultimately removing counterfeit goods and storefronts.

Ensure that you can take advantage of this season’s millennial impulse buying extravaganza by making certain consumers are purchasing authentic products from you or your authorized distributors, so that buyers and product owners, not counterfeiters and scammers, can benefit from holiday season spending.

Due to China’s classification under the UPU, the U.S. is forced to subsidize shipping costs for Chinese imports – including counterfeit products – to the tune of approximately $300 million annually. As such, it oftentimes costs Chinese manufacturers and counterfeiters less to manufacture and ship products to the U.S. than it does for American companies to ship products within the U.S. This has become an increasingly troubling matter for American businesses over the past few years as consumer shopping has largely moved from brick and mortar stores to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. Specifically, Chinese counterfeiters are able to severely undercut the price of authentic goods on Amazon (and eBay, etc.); making the counterfeit a significantly more appealing option to the unaware consumer.

This concern was echoed by President Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, who stated in a recent op-ed that this pricing “inequity puts American small businesses and manufacturers at a severe competitive disadvantage.” Navarro went on to detail how U.S. businesses and manufacturers pay between $19 and $23 to ship a 4.4lb package while China post only pays $5. It does not take an economist to see how such a disproportion is harming U.S. businesses.

As such, and in keeping with his America first policy, President Trump formally moved last week to withdraw from the UPU; an effort that is widely supported by U.S. shipping companies and manufacturers. Withdrawing from the UPU is a yearlong process, and if finalized in 2019, the U.S. will lose access to internationally recognized barcodes that allow parcels to be shipped throughout the UPU member countries. However, because it does take so long to formally withdraw, it gives the Trump administration ample time to renegotiate the rules and rates with the UPU and then rescind its notice of withdrawal. This is the most likely outcome, and one that will benefit U.S. product inventors, owners and distributors considerably.

Until this matter with the UPU is resolved, it is essential for product marketers to monitor third party sales of their products online to ensure counterfeits are not being offered at a lower price (and quality). Federally registering product trademarks and copyrights, as well as utilizing tools such as Amazon’s Brand Registry can help combat these counterfeiters and more effectively remove unauthorized product listings.

Sales platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba are great channels to sell products to the masses; however, unless monitored on a regular basis, these sites enable third-party sellers to capitalize on counterfeit, and in some cases, damaged or expired goods, leaving your profits and reputation on the chopping block.

The Alibaba platform should be of particular concern for many distributors because counterfeit goods are sold on such a colossal scale.  For example, consumer electronic sellers easily have tens of thousands of counterfeit listings on Alibaba.  This not only makes it difficult for consumers to identify who the underlying seller is and whether the product is legitimate, but it also makes it difficult for you to know whether your authorized distributor is responsible for the listings.

Policing the sale of your goods online can be a daunting and time consuming task if your product is being heavily infringed upon. It also doesn’t help that each marketplace has a different system (some more user friendly than others) for reporting and ultimately removing counterfeit goods and storefronts.

Don’t be a turkey this holiday season; make certain consumers are buying from you or your authorized sellers.  Digital Law Group has extensive take-down experience and knows how to most efficiently navigate each platform’s reporting system.  Gobble, gobble.

When dealing with infringement on Amazon and eBay, the process usually goes something like this: you search for your product on the platform and find an unauthorized listing (or oftentimes, several) that displays your trademark and images from your product website. You (or your attorney) fill out the infringement report provided by the platform, and typically within 48 hours you receive the notice that a reported listing has been removed.

Unfortunately, in many instances, the listing goes right back up because the seller is not prohibited from relisting a product after being reported and removed for infringement.  Thus, takedowns become a frustrating game of whack-a-mole until it ultimately becomes apparent that the infringer is not giving up.

In these situations, copyrights become the product owner’s greatest intellectual property asset.  If the infringer is using images, videos or text from the product website or infomercial, you can request a subpoena from the clerk of any United States district court for the identification of the infringer, without filing a civil action.  Although this may seem like a tedious process, it can be much more efficient than continuously reporting the same infringers.

Digital Law Group has takedown experience on Amazon, eBay and Alibaba, and has issued subpoenas for seller information.

Please Email us if you have any questions or concerns regarding the content above.

Sales platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba are great channels to sell products to the masses; however, unless monitored on a regular basis, these sites enable third-party sellers of counterfeit, and in some cases, damaged or expired goods, to cut into your profits.

Alibaba should be of particular concern for many sellers because counterfeit goods are sold on a colossal scale.  For example, consumer electronic sellers (e.g., Bose, Beats by Dre) can easily have tens of thousands of counterfeit listings on Alibaba.  This not only makes it difficult for consumers to identify who the underlying seller is and whether the product is legitimate, but it also makes it difficult for you to know whether your authorized distributor is behind the listings.

Policing the sale of your goods online can be daunting and time consuming if your product is being heavily infringed upon. It also doesn’t help that each marketplace has a different system, some more user friendly than others, for reporting and ultimately removing counterfeit goods, and at times, storefronts.

This holiday season, make sure your customers are buying from you or your authorized sellers.  Digital Law Group has extensive takedown experience and knows how to most efficiently navigate each platform’s reporting system.