What to do next
Who this affects
Consumer product brands, e-commerce sellers, fashion and cosmetics businesses, electronics and accessory makers, and any company whose products are sold through online marketplaces. Also legitimate distributors dealing with grey-market imports, which is a related but legally distinct problem.
Common situations
Identical products appear on a marketplace at implausible prices. Customers complain about quality on items you did not make. Someone registers your mark in a country where you sell but have not filed. Genuine goods intended for another market are imported and undercut your distributors - which may be lawful, and is analysed differently from counterfeiting.
Register the mark, then enrol in enforcement programmes
Most marketplace brand-protection programmes and customs recordal schemes require a registration, not merely use. If you are unregistered, filing is the first practical step - it is what converts a complaint into an enforceable process. Register in the countries where the goods are made, sold and imported, not only where you are based.
Use the routes that actually stop distribution
Marketplace notice-and-takedown, customs recordal so shipments can be detained at the border, payment-processor and domain-registrar complaints, and platform brand registries. These reach sellers that litigation cannot, and they work at volume - which matters when the same seller reappears under a new account.
What to prepare
Your trademark registrations and their goods and services, product images and packaging showing genuine articles, purchase records or screenshots of the infringing listings with dates and URLs, a test purchase where the platform requires proof, and your authorised distributor list. Capture listings before complaining - they disappear once notice is given.
Distinguish counterfeits from grey-market goods
Counterfeits are fake. Grey-market goods are genuine articles diverted from another market, and selling them is not automatically unlawful. The analysis turns on material differences, packaging, warranty and consumer confusion. Treating one as the other wastes effort and can expose you to a claim.
Possible legal pathways
Platform takedowns and repeat-infringer escalation, customs detention, cease and desist where the seller is identifiable and reachable, proceedings against significant sellers, and in serious commercial-scale cases referral to authorities. Programme-based enforcement generally does more than litigation against sellers who dissolve and reappear.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a registered trademark?
For practical purposes, yes. Most marketplace brand-protection programmes and customs recordal schemes require a registration. Unregistered rights may support a passing-off claim but will not get you into the programmes that actually work.
The sellers are overseas - can I do anything?
Yes, and this is the point of the programme-based routes. Marketplace takedowns, customs detention and payment-processor complaints reach sellers that a lawsuit cannot practically touch.
What is customs recordal?
Registering your trademark with the customs authority so officers can detain suspected counterfeit shipments at the border. It is one of the most cost-effective tools available and is underused.
Are grey-market imports illegal?
Not automatically - they are genuine goods diverted from another market. Whether you can act depends on material differences, packaging, warranty and likely consumer confusion. It is a distinct analysis from counterfeiting.
The seller keeps coming back under a new account.
Common. Marketplaces have repeat-infringer escalation and account-linking processes; document the pattern and escalate rather than filing the same individual complaint repeatedly.
What kind of lawyer handles this?
A trademark lawyer with brand-protection and enforcement experience. Where imports are involved, someone comfortable with customs measures too.
Which bodies are involved?
The trademarks office for registration, the customs authority for border measures, and the Federal Court or a provincial superior court for proceedings. Marketplace programmes are contractual rather than legal processes, but they are frequently the fastest.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and every situation is different — speak with a qualified lawyer about your specific circumstances.