Online counterfeiting is having an impact on the sales of genuine brands, claims a brand and trademark protection product company. More than 200 business executives, including representatives from global brands, took part in a survey for MarkMonitor. Despite the potential implications for profits of genuine firms of online counterfeiting, far more executives said the damage to brand reputation (55pc) was of higher importance than losing sales to counterfeited or pirated goods (33pc).
The survey also found that the majority of businesses feel it is vital to protect their brand from online counterfeiting across all of the major Internet platforms – from marketplaces and websites to the growing number of social media sites. Some 59pc of participants said it was important to protect their brands from counterfeiting on all e-commerce channels, with the highest response (24pc) saying websites is the main area.
Some 41pc felt that future trends such as 3D printing would impact their brand and associated trademarks. The streaming of online content (33pc) was cited as the most significant internet-related IP (intellectual property) trend facing companies, followed by e-commerce (30pc).
Simon Whitehouse, Senior Director, EMEA at MarkMonitor said: “The overall results highlight many of the challenges facing brands online and how critical it is to protect a company’s reputation across the entire Internet landscape. Damage to the reputation can have a massive impact on long term customer confidence, which in itself may lead to an even greater loss in sales. This survey underlines the importance that in today’s rapidly expanding digital world, with the growing incidences of brand abuse, it is more important than ever to adopt the most robust and reliable brand protection strategy.”
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