This year has been a turbulent time for the whole world, as we struggle to get back to normality in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the UK, Brexit has added a whole new list of challenges as we head in to the holiday season.
With factories shutting down for long periods during lockdown, the cost of materials soaring, and staff shortages becoming a major issue, UK businesses are becoming increasingly concerned for the future.
A recent survey of 263 manufacturers by the Confederation of British Industry revealed that 2/3 of companies expressed concerns about supply shortages, and lack of labour affecting their future output*. On top of that, many businesses are seeing their costs skyrocketing by up to 30-40% for major components, parts, and shipping*. As a result, a lot of these expenses are being passed on to the consumer as the economy strives to recover.
With that being said, many consumers may turn to online marketplaces and social media for their shopping needs. Unfortunately, this creates an environment where counterfeit products thrive – as the fakers are wily, have fast moving supply chains and often sadly efficient [if illegal] logistics operations. Many copycats see this as an opportunity to sell cheap imitations of legitimate brands’ products – diverting revenue, harming brand reputation and endangering customers.
So how can brands protect themselves from harmful fake products online?
Counterfeit protection
In order to take down fake versions of your product online, you need to have the right protections in place. Register your intellectual property in all of the territories you trade, including:
- Trademarks
- Design rights
- Patents
- Copyrighted material
If you do not have the proper intellectual property rights in all the territories in which you trade, it can prove difficult to enforce.
Enforce infringed trademarks
Once you have registered your intellectual property, you can use it to take down the online copycats. Use your IP to take down infringing listings by reporting them to the platform where they are listed.
Online Brand protection
We know that sometimes there are not enough hours in the day. Luckily, this is our day job. At SnapDragon, we protect brands online, and fight the fakes for them – so they can have peace of mind. Supported by our proprietary tech, our international team of multi-lingual brand protection specialists monitor online marketplaces, social media and domains to identify and remove listings that infringe your intellectual property.
And if you think you could do it yourself, we have recently launched Swoop, our self-service brand protection solution. Swoop finds the fakes, so that you can take them down.
What’s more, our self-service brand protection solution is available for everyone to use – making brand protection accessible to every business, large and small. Check out our no obligation free trial.
Sources:
The Guardian – Fears grow as UK factories hit by worst supply chain shortage since mid-70’s
The Financial Times – UK supply chain crisis to last until at least 2023, business leaders warn
