Day: January 5, 2021

Let me explain.

It has provoked scepticism in Congress, a satire on Netflix, and, with its uncannily similar logo, “Star Trek” jokes about intergalactic battles.” CBSNews.com

On the one side, we have Space Force, the newest branch of the U.S. armed forces, announced by Donald Trump way back in early 2018.

On the other side we have the Netflix comedy series, Space Force starring Steve Carell released this year on May 29^th.

Now, you’d think the ‘rights’ issue would be in the bag for the U.S. government, and you would also assume that they’ve already won the battles, as well as the war.
Well, apparently the U.S. government had a reputation for being lax when it came to registering trademarks until that is, they finally established branding and licensing office in 2007.

Most surprisingly in this case, especially for a businessman such as Trump, they made the rookie mistake of announcing a brand before securing its intellectual property rights, thus limiting the government’s control of the name in the marketplace.

How can a fictional comedy series ever be confused with real-life astronaut training or satellite intelligence is not really the question here.
But it is a question for Space Force merchandisers.

Basically, the U.S government filed a trademark application in May this year and included the following products – key chains, jewellery, bedspreads, towels, cigarette lighters and toy cars BUT all those items were already filed by someone else, TWO years earlier!

At the moment, it only has a pending ‘intent-to-use’ trademark application and is competing with several other applications for “Space Force” some dating from early March 2018.

Netflix on the other hand has already secured trademark rights to “Space Force” in Europe, Australia and Mexico!

Victory may still be a foregone conclusion for the U.S. government, but it will be a lengthy and expensive war with not a few casualties. A war that could have been easily averted with a cleverly planned I.P. strategy.

“At this time, we are not aware of any trademark conflicts with the fictional program Space Force produced by Netflix,” says an Air Force spokesperson to the Hollywood Reporter. “We wish Netflix and the show’s producers the best in their creative depiction of our nation’s newest branch of the military.”

The best way to stop IP infringement of your product or brand is to be aware of the problem and also by understanding the level of the problem. Axencis is constantly innovating and creating tools to firstly identify and then successfully combat this threat for our clients. Fine-tuning from our dedicated professional investigations team then leads to successful takedowns and ultimately to compensation from counterfeit sellers.

Here at Axencis, our first step is to evaluate the level of a brand’s existing vulnerability and exposure to counterfeit markets. Feel free to contact us for an assessment.

Schools are opening this month, parents are finally going back to work, and generally people are gathering together for the first time in months. Face masks are not only going to be compulsory but the norm for a long while to come.

Designers and fashion houses have stepped up and launched their own face coverings, but many clever individuals have repurposed designer items to make their own. Genuine items have been repurposed – scarves and handkerchiefs from designers such as Hermes, and Versace as well as small leather items from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

With all of the attention on social media, these Designer-themed items have no doubt gained in popularity overnight. And this is just the type of item the counterfeit trade is attracted to.

If you do a quick search on any e-commerce platform, for ‘designer face-mask’ you’ll have plenty to choose from!

So yes, we can see the obvious problem of having mass-produced knock-offs passed off as genuine, fundamentally damaging a famous brands reputation with bad quality items, but is it that simple?

There are those that just make use of a pattern e.g. the famous Burberry check , or of just the brand name e.g. Chanel. Is that classed as counterfeiting, or is it actually marketing if worn by an Influencer on Social Media, an ‘homage’ if you like to our favourite brands?

And finally, what about the use of a genuine item, repurposed in this case into a face mask? Is that allowed or is that trademark infringement?

In short, epidemiologists are saying that we should all be prepared for a future where further, and different outbreaks will occur – where we will all be required to use face-masks daily!

These may be questions then, that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

The best way to stop IP infringement of your product or brand is to be aware of the problem and also by understanding the level of the problem. Axencis is constantly innovating and creating tools to firstly identify and then successfully combat this threat for our clients. Fine-tuning from our dedicated professional investigations team then leads to successful takedowns and ultimately to compensation from counterfeit sellers.

Here at Axencis, our first step is to evaluate the level of a brand’s existing vulnerability and exposure to counterfeit markets. Feel free to contact us for an assessment.

All of these Trademarked Brands are currently in use in the Dictionary, as the generic word used to describe a particular type of product.

Let’s see if any surprise you.

The best way to stop IP infringement of your product or brand is to be aware of the problem and also by understanding the level of the problem. Axencis is constantly innovating and creating tools to firstly identify and then successfully combat this threat for our clients. Fine-tuning from our dedicated professional investigations team then leads to successful takedowns and ultimately to compensation from counterfeit sellers.

Here at Axencis, our first step is to evaluate the level of a brand’s existing vulnerability and exposure to counterfeit markets. Feel free to contact us for an assessment.

Online marketplaces and social media platforms have been showing significant growth in counterfeit products each year.

New e-commerce websites and apps have been introduced to the bargain-hunting public on a regular basis, brimming with well-known brands, designer goods and household names – and also introducing easier ways to pay, faster delivery and even free shipping.

During the Covid-19 crisis, there has been a 146% growth in all online retail orders in the U.S and Canada.
Forbes.com

After seeing a huge rise in online purchases we can assume that there has been a substantial increase in counterfeit sales also. Statistics hitting areas of the marketplace where people who are forced to stay at home during the Covid crisis would be most attracted to, like children’s toys and sporting goods, products which help make confinement more fun and bearable.

One of the top marketplace websites and popular at the moment is Aliexpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba.

Aliexpress is owned by the Alibaba Group – which also owns the websites Alibaba, TMall, Taobao and 1688.com …and counting

Aliexpress has steadily gained in popularity and this is probably due to the fact that unlike other Chinese e-commerce websites, this one is geared toward selling to buyers outside of China and is, of course, available in several languages.

If you do a quick search on Google, you can easily find many items passed off as genuine. Here I searched very blatantly for a “fake Furla watch” in the search. Over $50 for a cheap Chinese “dupe” or knockoff is not really a bargain, but still a fake!

Back in 2015 Alibaba created a dedicated team to combat IP infringements which did result in a significant decrease in fake goods, but counterfeit products are still widely available on this platform.

Can’t find what you’re looking for by typing in the brand name you’re after? This is because sellers, apparently, can no longer use genuine brand names, but there are specific unaffiliated websites created to help you out!

The abbreviations and links shown in the pictures above would take you directly to the counterfeit listings on the Aliexpress platform. As well as advice on keywords there are also articles and links to help you expertly navigate the Aliexpress hidden counterfeit listings.

Another website that has appeared, is Yupoo. Quite worryingly this is a photo-sharing site, with no words, no prices and no names – just a contact link which leads you to chat apps such as WhatsApp. By contacting the seller via chat, you will be given a link to an Aliexpress page. This link will normally show a completely different, unbranded product and this is actually the link to the counterfeit item you were after!

The World Trademark Review reported on this long, roundabout way to purchase counterfeit items from Aliexpress and they also provide advice on Yupoo page takedowns. With this increase in online purchases due to Covid 19, we can see that similar e-commerce sites and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are already platforms where counterfeiters are completely bypassing traditional sites.

The best way to stop IP infringement of your product or brand is to be aware of the problem and also by understanding the level of the problem. Axencis is constantly innovating and creating tools to firstly identify and then successfully combat this threat for our clients. Fine-tuning from our dedicated professional investigations team then leads to successful takedowns and ultimately to compensation from counterfeit sellers.

Here at Axencis, our first step is to evaluate the level of a brand’s existing vulnerability and exposure to counterfeit markets. Feel free to contact us for an assessment.