Big corporations and organisations increasingly operate in an online world; a space where there is ample room for new opportunity but where there is also an element of risk. A new breed of tech-savvy criminals commit intellectual property (IP) crime in the digital and online world, which can cause a great deal of damage to brand’s reputation.

People might affiliate themselves with brands for the purpose of selling fake goods or services, or they may be trying to gain a bigger audience for their own personal content. The often sub-par quality of whatever it is they’re trying to sell or share can besmirch the brand in question’s name among unknowing audiences. Unfortunately the nature of the internet can make it very difficult to identify and stop these fraudsters, but it is up to the targeted brand itself to put systems in place that will protect it from this kind of attack.

Matthew Pryke, partner at Hamlins, a commercial law firm, says that IP protection online is often something which falls within the remit of a legal team, but that it doesn’t necessarily have to be. He says, “Often this is something that is outsourced to professionals, whether they be trademark attorneys or IP solicitors. However, it’s not something that has to be outsourced, it can be done by anybody within the organisation, it’s just a matter of having both the processes, the routine and also the time, to monitor on a consistent basis and know what’s going on in the marketplace.”

IP theft online should be a consideration for all big brands, the higher the value of the brand the greater the threat. This tends to be more of a contributing factor than, for example, the sector that the brand resides in because the person feels that they can gain advantage simply by associating themselves with a strong brand.

Robert Guthrie, partner at Osborne Clarke, an international law firm, believes that the most susceptible industries are those whose consumer base are the most active and competent online, for example, the gaming industry or brands like Google and Apple in the tech industry. However, he says, “This is something that all big, consumer-facing brands should consider. If somebody’s brand is valuable to the extent that it has a marketing and PR department, then one of the things they should definitely be thinking about is their reputation online.”

MarkMonitor is a brand protection organisation that works with some of the largest brands in the world to help them protect their reputation and revenues from online attacks. This year the organisation released a set of brand protection strategies with tips that include; keeping brand impersonators from intercepting your web traffic and protecting brand reputation across all digital channels, including social and mobile. Another current threat is in generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Recent growth in the domain name space has heightened the possibility of counterfeiters taking control of new websites with domain names that make it seem as if the website has something to do with the original brand. Brands can take steps to counteract this by purchasing any emerging, relevant domain names before the counterfeiters are able to use them to set up a fraudulent site.

Simon Whitehouse, sales manager at MarkMonitor, says, “MarkMonitor’s service is a combination of defensive policy; getting domain names registered to protect the brand, combined with an offensive policy; protecting the brand by looking for infringements such as cybersquatting. That kind of yin and yang, defensive and offensive approach, that’s going to bear the most fruit as a solid strategy for brands.”

Once the infringing activity has been identified, there should also be a strategy in place to deal with that threat. The necessary action could be a take-down procedure that is usually available from internet service providers and similar marketplaces, or it could be to bring legal action to ensure that the activity is unable to continue. The faster the threat is identified and dealt with, the less it will cost the company and any potential damage to the brand’s reputation will be reduced.

Brand owners are beginning to take this issue more seriously. It is pointless to spend millions on promoting your brand if you’re not then going to protect that asset online. Pryke says, “I think that brands will continue to be reasonably bullish about some of these things, but there are going to be occasions where they’re going to have to engage, particularly on the social media side of things, in a much more clever and strategic way because now there are so many people out there that have something to say and who want a piece of these brands.”

He adds, “Brands need the ability to maintain control of the communications and the message that’s going out into the marketplace. It is something that is now, for most of our clients with valuable brands, very much built into their brand protection strategies.”

The fast-moving nature of the online space means that brands must stay vigilant, ensuring that they control and thus maintain brand value. However, complete control is inevitably impossible due to the nature of the medium. All brands can do is ensure that they have the right people on the job, people who have a strong understanding of communications strategy.

Whitehouse says, “You have to have a strategy where you stand-up and say to the market; we’re not going to tolerate somebody coming in and abusing our brand and counterfeiting our products – we, as a brand, are going to stand-up and do something in order to protect you from the fake goods out there.”

Websites, particularly social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, are increasingly coming under pressure, from statutes, politically and from their consumers, to identify and stamp out counterfeiters as part of their strategy. For now it is the responsibility of the brand to protect itself by both measuring and analysing the threat, and then taking action to prevent it. It is no longer an option for organisations who value their brand to avoid monitoring their IP in the online and digital space.

Pryke says, “There’s lots of people who think that if something’s online then it’s freely available and they can just use it as they want. This isn’t just big corporations telling people they can’t do things, there’s a reason why those rights have to be protected. These ultimately are the value, good will and reputation behind businesses that are keeping people in jobs and keeping the economy moving. If, ultimately, we allow the internet to chip away at that, then that’s only ever going to hurt everybody in the long run.