June 17, 2019

The IPO points out that the rapid growth in e-commerce over the past decade has increased consumers’ choice and access to goods online. This has led to consumers turning to major e-commerce stores including Alibaba, Amazon, eBay and Facebook to buy everyday goods.

Though almost all e-commerce taking place on these stores is legitimate, they can also be abused by those seeking to sell and distribute counterfeit and pirated goods. This undermines legitimate business, can be damaging to rights holders and can be harmful to consumers.

Many of the global e-commerce stores have developed specific tools to allow intellectual property rights (IPR) holders to report and remove infringing listings to protect their brands. The Guidance explains how these tools work and where to find them on websites belonging to Alibaba, Amazon, eBay and Facebook (Marketplace). To access the Guidance, click here.