Home > IP Solutions > Brand Protection > What is Brand Protection What is Brand Protection? Brand protection is the safeguarding of a company’s intellectual property (IP) against bad actors seeking to illicitly profit from its IP, including its trademarks, domain names, design marks, trade dress and patents, regardless of where they are located online. Fingerprint Biometric Authentication Button. Digital Security Concept What is brand protection? Legacy brand protection providers can find individual instances of abuse, but they are unequal to the challenges posed by systemic brand abuse. Therefore, identifying and dismantling abuse networks requires a fresh approach driven by real technology and genuine expertise. LexisNexis Brand Protection is the only provider that can meet the challenges of current abusive networks. Together, our advanced technology and decades of experience are critical in helping you confront organized bad actors. Prioritize brand protection efforts. Dismantle organized bad actors. Fortify litigation evidence. What is brand protection technology? Brand protection technology exists to help detect the many sources of fraud across the modern digital ecosystem and remove/mitigate that abuse. It does so in various ways, including through artificial intelligence and managed services. Here are a few examples: Image recognition Advanced machine learning capabilities detect digital images online (logo, product images, etc.) to accelerate the review, triage and prioritization of enforcement efforts. Test Buys Undercover purchase and analysis of physical and digital goods help definitively determine the authenticity of a good or service and is a cost-effective alternative to private investigations. Case Management In-platform repository and workflows can be tailored to any specific case management requirements to reduce time, effort and headaches. Managed Services Experienced brand protection teams become immediate extensions to any legal and brand protection department. Stock photo of young woman’s face as she contemplates one of the many computer monitors that surround her. What is brand protection saving your brand from? Digital brand abuse can be committed by both nefarious and non-nefarious groups, as well as individuals. Generally, it occurs to disrupt or defame, but it primarily occurs for financial gain. Not so surprisingly, the most egregious and most challenging accounts of brand abuse are committed by organized bad actors who seek to confuse, divert and monetize a well-known brand’s customers. Organized bad actors One-off bad actors Customers Affiliates/partners Competitors Other Why is brand protection important? Bad actors are savvy digital marketers. Particularly, they exploit digital platforms to find new ways to use your brand for their own gain. People need to feel assured that every interaction with your brand is 100% authentic. In conclusion, there are many critical benefits to using brand protection technology, including: Preserving customer satisfaction and experience Preventing brand and reputation decay Averting customer safety issues Reducing marketing and ad spend Increasing sales and revenue A confused sad african american girl unpacking her parcel at home. Surprised young woman got an unexpected order, girl is upset with her parcel, unsuccessful online shopping. Home delivery What is digital brand abuse? Digital brand abuse is a term used to encapsulate an array of illicit and malicious activities online, all of which are linked to the exploitation of a brand, trademark or IP in some form. Brand owners must police their brands for digital brand abuse to protect their reputation, revenues and customers’ online experience, trust and safety. What is tracked by brand protection? There is a broad spectrum of illicit activities that bad actors employ to take advantage of the goodwill cultivated by a brand in the market. Counterfeiting The sale of fake goods made to look authentic. Gray Market/Parallel Import Non-counterfeit products sold from an unauthorized seller. Cybersquatting Registering or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark. Spoofed websites Websites created fraudulently to appear to be produced by a different person or organization. Rogue mobile apps Counterfeit apps made to duplicate those of trusted brands. Impersonation/Phishing Fraudulently acting as a trusted company or a brand to trick victims into disclosing sensitive information. Piracy Practice of distributing copyrighted content digitally without permission, such as music or software. anonymous person in the hood sitting in front of computer working with laptop and mobile phone When does digital brand abuse occur? Digital brand abuse can take place at multiple points during a customer’s digital brand journey. In short, whether customers are doing research, making a purchase, or promoting and advocating your brand online, brand abuse exists in the form of domain names, text, copy, images and more. Swirling collage of faces How does brand abuse occur on social media? Social media accounts are free and easy to set up, which makes them easy targets for bad actors to abuse your brand. Basically, fake social media accounts mimic well-known brands or imply some association with a trusted brand. These fake accounts can cause consumer confusion and are used to redirect legitimate traffic to illegitimate sites. Furthermore, some of these sites may be used for phishing to trick consumers into sharing their login credentials and financial information. Others might be used to sell substandard goods or counterfeits, resulting in consumer harm and revenue loss. More solutions for VIEW ALL Competitive intelligence & benchmarking Stay ahead of the competition and disruptive technologies. Monitor and analyze competitors’ R&D strategies as well as competitive and technological landscapes. Identify emerging competitors and new entrants early. Provide proactive recommendations for strategy to top management. READ MORE Portfolio management & optimization Determine your patent portfolio’s competitive strengths and weaknesses to better understand what strategies or actions are necessary to stay ahead of competition. Increase portfolio efficiencies. Define country filing strategies. Manage annuity costs. Read More Disruptive technology scouting Spot upcoming competitors and disruptive innovations early on. Stay up to date on current technology trends and explore the patent landscape in any way you find insightful. Identify disruptive technologies. Reveal R&D trends. Explore complementary technologies. Read More R&D and innovation Improve your innovation performance through a deep knowledge of technologies, competitors, and partners. Gain a comprehensive overview of innovation landscapes. Identify growth areas. Monitor the actions taking place in your competitive environment. Read More Sustainable innovation analytics Get actionable insights into how sustainably focused you and your competitors are with a mapping of the global patent system to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Identify growth opportunities in emerging markets. Gain competitive advantages in future-oriented technologies. Support strategic decision making for sustainable investments. Read More Risk mitigation Successfully mitigate risks that can harm your IP department and business. Keep track of your competitors in your recent and potential technology fields and avoid: Being unaware of an up-and-coming competitor Missing out on important technological trends Threats from non-practicing entities (NPEs) Read More Licensing & SEPs Identify promising licensing opportunities that help you turn your patent department from a cost center into a profit center. Bring transparency to SEP licensing and negotiation. Find your most valuable patents for licensing. Identify potential licensees. Pinpoint standard-relevant patents. Read More M&A Due Diligence Efficiently assess the value or risk of acquisition candidates then analyze portfolios for technological fit, key patents and answers to critical IP questions. Study acquisition targets’ patent portfolios Analyze innovation landscapes and technological fit Find key patents within portfolios Read More Brand Protection Resources Phishing, mobile phone hacker or cyber scam concept. Password and login pass code in smartphone. Online security threat and fraud. Female scammer with cellphone and laptop. Bank account security. Trends in Brand Abuse 2022 In this guide, uncover recent trends in brand abuse, from rogue mobile activity to how the pandemic is fueling counterfeit trade. Plus, learn about the advanced tools available for fighting increasingly sophisticated abuse. Learn more Computer security concept Tools to Protect Your Brand How protected is your brand in 2022? Join our webinar with the European Union Intellectual Property Office as we discuss tips to protect your brand from counterfeit and illegal products. Watch the Webinar Recording security code of a strongbox What Makes a Brand Resilient? As fraud proliferates brands must practice diligence in protecting their intellectual property. Learn what makes a brand resilient. Learn more Multi-ethnic group of business persons making high-five Defending Brands—New Realities, New Partnerships As technologies innovate, so do bad actors on the web who conspire to harm your brand through piracy, intellectual property infringement, and product counterfeits. Learn more
