Anti Counterfeiting Lawyers

Anti-counterfeiting measures help to protect the brand, reputation and bottom-line of a business.

Clients spend years investing in and creating new ideas and designs to produce a “signature look and feel”. However, those designs that took time, effort and money to perfect, create, and market can be copied and on sale almost instantly.

Especially now with new websites popping up all the time, it’s not only big retailers that can copy an idea or design but anyone with computer access can source “dupes” from China, create a website and/or social media profile and start selling. Due to this, the services provided by anti-counterfeiting lawyers have become increasingly important.

Anti-counterfeiting lawyers are legal professionals who specialise in protecting intellectual property (IP) rights such a trade mark, registered and unregistered design and domain rights from being copied and reproduced.

The activities of counterfeiters are not only disruptive but can cause distress and reputational damage. This can be compounded by the difficulty of tracing counterfeiters and stopping their activities. Our anti-counterfeiting London lawyers assist clients in all aspects of preventing and implementing global enforcement strategies to protect their brands (including but not limited to trade marks) from counterfeiting.

Anti-counterfeiting measures can be preventative, for example:

• Ensuring that customs authorities in the UK and EU inspect, detain and destroy goods that are suspected of infringing your IP rights (or are otherwise “fake”).
• Managing your portfolio of registered trade marks and design rights in the UK and internationally to ensure that these rights remain in force.
• Review services which monitor the web for any potential counterfeit or infringing goods.

Our anti-counterfeiting lawyers can work with you to set up brand monitoring systems to ensure both you and your brand stay protected. We can also work directly with UK boarder force to ensure that infringing goods do not entire the UK and/or EU.

With the UK no longer part of the EU, it is often necessary for businesses to separately implement and maintain measures for the protection of their IP rights in the UK and in the EU.  Waterfront has the relevant knowledge and experience to navigate these different regimes and a network of European partners who can assist when required.

Businesses will often need to enforce their IP rights in order to prevent the production, advertising and sale of counterfeit products and services.- It is important for clients to be seen actively protecting their brand and going after counterfeiters.

For example, with the rise of fast fashion, many brands find themselves becoming victims of counterfeiting, both abroad coming into England and products being made in England itself. A business that is actively protecting their brand would be sending cease and desist letters once they are aware of any such activity by enlisting anti-counterfeiting lawyers.

Our expert anti-counterfeiting lawyers can help to:

• Explain the relevant IP right on which you can rely (which could range from registered trade marks, to unregistered design rights or database rights);
• Collate evidence of the counterfeiting acts;
• Identify the individual or entity against whom enforcement action will likely be most effective; and
• Prepare the relevant documentation, evidence and correspondence to be sent to infringing parties, the appropriate intermediary (i.e. social media platform) or submit it to the court.
• Take action against infringing parties such as drafting cease and desist letters and issuing court proceedings.

With the proliferation of counterfeiting activities occurring online, the cross-disciplinary expertise of our IP  lawyers is invaluable.  We have in-depth knowledge of the law as it relates to domain names, software, data protection and emerging technologies (including DLT and blockchain technologies).

Whether imitation goods are being sold via fake social media pages or counterfeiters are cybersquatting on domain names that are similar to your brand in order to send, scam, spam or phishing emails, we can readily advise on alternative options available to you in respect of protecting and enforcing your rights.

Our team of expert anti-counterfeiting lawyers also have extensive experience of obtaining, opposing and challenging search and seizure orders, including “doorstep Piller” orders and injunctions, which can be used to seize counterfeit goods.

Our nationally ranked (via the Chambers and Partners UK Legal Guide) help pursue legal remedies on behalf of clients including but not limited to filing civil lawsuits, obtaining court-issued injunctions to halt counterfeit production, and seeking damages for financial losses incurred.

If you would like further advice about anti-counterfeiting, please contact our team for a free initial chat.