In the competitive world of business, brand protection is a key element of every company’s strategy. Strengthening the image and maintaining the reputation are processes that require continuous monitoring. Preventive measures are far more effective than addressing the consequences after incidents occur. This principle applies to brand protection and its components functioning in the market, including elements that together create the brand’s entirety and influence its presence and perception in the market, such as the logo and brand name, offered products and services, reputation and customer trust, company values and mission, social media communication, etc.
Brand protection involves more than just securing the logo or name from unauthorized use. A comprehensive approach also includes monitoring and responding to any threats that may impact the company’s perception by customers, business partners, and competitors.
Threatened Trademark
In a project undertaken by Verificators related to brand protection, the situation required immediate action. The client, a large manufacturing company, was informed of the possibility of losing the trademark rights for one of its products. A third party or entity used the argument of the trademark’s non-use by its owner for a specified extended period, which provided legal grounds for revoking the trademark and attempting to take it over.
According to European Union law, the lack of active use of a trademark for five years can result in its loss. EU legislators assume that unused rights do not deserve protection since their owners are not interested in exercising them.
The client was given a short period to appeal the presented arguments and prove that the product is still present in the market, confirming the active use of the trademark aimed at EU countries.
Tactics
The goal of Verificators’ actions was to gather evidence of the continuous use of the trademark. We focused on several key areas, encompassing the overall identification of the trademark in the market.
As part of the project, a detailed market analysis was conducted, documenting the sale and presence of the product in various distribution channels. This stage was divided into online and offline sales. All available online sales advertisements were secured, both in traditional online stores and on auction platforms like Allegro, OLX, Etsy, etc. Information was also gathered from marketing campaigns that used the trademark, and media research was conducted to highlight the product’s presence in both traditional and social media.
Product Popularity Research
As part of the research on available information about the product in the media, all available opinions about the product in the European market were collected. The “product interest” was also estimated, i.e., numerical data indicating the search for the product name. The presence of the product in social media was also analyzed, but we mainly encountered a large amount of content on Asian social platforms. The product was particularly popular there, as evidenced by the people sharing content related to the product, which generally originated from Asia.
In the context of protecting the trademark in the European Union, it is crucial to demonstrate the product’s popularity in our market. Therefore, the fact that the product gains fame on another continent did not have a direct significance for our goals.
Gathering Product Presence Evidence
To determine the actual availability of the product in physical stores, we identified entities potentially acting as sellers of the specified product. The issue was complex because the product was mainly offered in Indian restaurants or stores specializing in Indian products, as it was most successful in that market, thus associated with that culture and cuisine.
The selected companies were located in several of the largest Polish cities, making physical presence in each of these places impossible. To verify product availability, our analysts attempted to contact each location or store by phone. The initially obtained information allowed us to eliminate numerous entities that did not have the product in their offer, either currently or in recent months. Detectives were sent to locations that confirmed the possibility of purchasing the described product.
On-site, it turned out that many places confirming product availability actually did not have it. Their aim was likely to attract customers, resulting in false initial results. An additional problem was the language barrier—many sellers, due to their Asian origin, could not communicate either in Polish or English.
For sellers who did indeed have the product, photographic documentation was made to confirm the product’s presence in sales, and the purchase of the product was documented. Declarations were also collected from sellers confirming the sale of the product, stock levels, customer interest, and supply sources. Such documentation was intended to facilitate the task for the company’s lawyers, who, based on the materials gathered by us, had to prove that the trademark is indeed used and displayed.
Summary – Brand Protection
Brand protection involves not only legal aspects related to trademarks but also struggles with counterfeiting and copyright violations. The key element in these actions is the effective collection and documentation of evidence. The gathered information not only enables a swift response to threats but also provides a solid foundation for in-house lawyers. With appropriately collected evidence, lawyers can effectively protect the company’s interests, taking preventive measures and legal actions on various fronts, including negotiations, arbitrations, and court proceedings. Effective brand protection management thus becomes not only a crucial element of business strategy but also a guarantee of maintaining the company’s reputation and market position.
Author: Patrycja Kruczkowska
*Client data has been anonymized before publication.
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