In-house Counsel: Standing Guard

Online shopping has changed the way consumers shop for retail products. The global Covid-19 pandemic shifted even more sales online.1  E-commerce platforms have made it easier, faster, and more convenient to shop online. But they have also created a fertile ground for counterfeiters whose cunning tactics have sometimes outpaced the efforts of e-commerce platforms to subvert them and rid their marketplaces of counterfeits.

In 2019, the sale of fake goods represented 3.3% of world trade.²  In 2020, US Customs and Border Protection and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized more than 26,000 shipments of fake goods, the value of which, had they been genuine, was in excess of $1.3bn.³  Counterfeits can pose health and safety risks to consumers. They also harm the bottom line and reputation of rights owners.