Brand Protection In China
How To Protect Your Brand On The Internet In China?
The overall landscape of the Internet in China is changing rapidly thanks to advancements in tech and Internet penetration. This has lead to rapid growth in e-commerce, social media, and web content activity.
On one hand, this brings plenty of opportunities for companies to market their products and services online in China.
On the other hand, the fast-pace of development also increases serious threats such as counterfeiting, phishing, cybersquatting, parallel import, unfair competition and other types of infringement.
In the last 2 years, we notified over 250 hosting providers and 450 registrars across the world in a variety of different languages, adapting our notifications to local laws and regulations.
Our Solution
Thomsen Trampedach monitors across Chinese marketplaces, social media platforms, and search engine results for your trademark in Chinese script, in combination with relevant keywords. Thomsen Trampedach tailors a strategy reflecting the needs of each client and focuses on delivering a transparent and efficient solution for all needs.
Detection
Monitoring of more than 100 Chinese Marketplaces, including mobile-only marketplaces (e.g. Pinduoduo and Weidian).
Monitoring of the largest Chinese social media platforms, including WeChat, Weibo and Xiaohongshu.
Monitoring of the top 30 results from the results pages of the largest search engines (SERP).
Monitoring of international social media platforms, search engines and marketplaces for the presence of unlawful activities.
Results are filtered and infringement proactively identified using human intelligence and specialized legal knowledge.
Investigation & Enforcement
Through our web-based case management and enforcement system Pliano®, our Chinese and Chinese-speaking experts will make use of identifiers such as Wechat/QQ IDs, email addresses, images and user names to reveal more cases, and collect evidence of abuse on Social Media Platforms. Once the scope of the abuse has been established, our experts will use Pliano® to send complaints based on Chinese law to the relevant intermediary or content owner.
We store all relevant data related to the case in our web-based case management and enforcement tool Pliano®. Each “case” includes a URL, investigation notes, suggested actions, a screenshot, the takedown process, and correspondence between infringer, the client and us.
To preserve and enhance your goodwill, we always advocate an educational approach where bad faith is not evident. This is because many platforms don’t provide the user with the option of filing counter notifications, and the fact that not all Internet users have a complete understanding of the law. In these circumstances we find a softer approach more conducive towards achieving results.
Premade enforcement mechanisms for over 70 + Chinese Marketplaces and Social Media platforms.
Your Questions
Our Answers
IP infringement in China is a longstanding concern for many companies. With the rapidly changing online environment and new technologies, novel issues emerge. In 2016 The Economist reported that 66 % of all captured counterfeited goods came out of shipments from Chinese e-commerce platforms. Besides, we also increasingly observe that social media and growing in popularity social shopping platforms are being used to conduct illicit sales or create confusion among consumers.
Therefore, a well-tailored multi-dimensional, proactive and preventive strategy should be implemented to minimize risks and protect from online abuse, whether it is counterfeiting, cybersquatting, impersonation or unauthorized use of your brand.
While every brand requires its own brand protection strategy, there are 3 golden rules you should apply to make sure your IP is well protected from counterfeiters, cybersquatters, frauders and other abusers in China:
- Secure and enforce your rights. Whether you are a big international brand or a small label, it is absolutely necessary to prevent others from taking advantage of your name. Make sure to register your rights, including a Chinese name as well, and enforce them as soon as possible.
- Keep your eyes open. The pace of development on the Chinese market is faster from what we are used to in the West. Infringers are quick to adapt to changes in the market and alter their strategies for bigger gains. Hence, you should keep your eyes open and actively adapt your strategy in line with new trends.
- Outsmart the infringers and minimize risk. Make sure that you are present in places where your IP rights are being infringed or local consumers mostly seek for you. Set up official channels on key social media platforms and marketplaces for your brand (we can help you with deciding where it would be most efficient based on our Landscape Report – contact us for one)
This module is tailored individually for every brand to ensure that your brand is well protected from abuse in China. We offer a multi-dimensional approach that encompasses all four components of the Chinese Web: web content, Social media, marketplaces (including mobile-only marketplaces Weidian, Pinduoduo, Youzan etc. and app stores) as well as domain names.
We monitor for your brand name in Chinese script or other common Chinese keywords related to your brand to detect and remove all kinds of abuse from impersonations to counterfeits.
For instance, if your rights are violated mainly across Chinese social media, like Weibo, WeChat or Douyin, that is where we will put our focus on to actively monitor and protect your brand. In addition, we will also look out for potential threats and suggest you prevention methods – that involves setting up an official presence on social media platforms, official shops on online marketplaces, online brand protection platforms (e.g. WeChat Brand Protection Platform) or changing your monitoring focus and scope where new issues occur.
Added Value
Thomsen Trampedach will suggest the opening of online stores on platforms where your IPR is being abused in order to educate Chinese consumers and increase your sales.
Thomsen Trampedach will suggest and can register Chinese domain names across all TLDs (.cn and .中国), as well as all new Chinese gTLDs.
Thomsen Trampedach can register user names across Chinese social media sites, as well as IPP platforms such as the WeChat Brand Protection Platform.
Our Partner in China
Offline Actions
Together with our local partner in China, PSU China we can help with offline investigations, and onsite operational support. PSU China is experienced in localisation of counterfeit producing factories and collection of notarised evidence (such as test purchases). Together with PSU China, we offer a complete brand protection solution in China where we monitor, analyse and enforce on online abuse, and in severe cases of counterfeit distribution evaluate together with the client and PSU China whether additional on-the-ground investigations could be of interest before alarming the infringer with a take down notice. This way we can truly get to the root of the problem.
Interested in a China Screening?
We help dozens of brands with monitoring and removal of infringements on Chinese Marketplaces, Social Media Platforms and Websites. Reach out to us for a one-time landscape report where we screen for abuse of your brand. This screening will include, an overview of the abuse found in China, a brand protection strategy tailor-made for your specific needs balancing enforcement outcome and resources spent.
Related Resources
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How to Remove Infringements on Chinese Marketplaces?
In this guide you will find information about China’s Online Retail Market, the distribution of Chinese Online Marketplaces, China’s Legal Framework followed by some practical insights on how you can report and remove counterfeit products and other types of IPR infringement on Chinese Online Marketplaces.
What is the best way to address Cybersquatting in China?
Recent amendments to China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law have given brand owners a stronger tool to combat cybersquatting.