With online threats evolving rapidly, brand owners require forward planning and steadfast support to protect their assets online. Séverine Bonhomme, Senior Client Solutions—Trademark, Design & Domain Services at Questel shares how modern brand protection technology can help you cut through the noise to pinpoint infringement effectively.
In the past, online brand protection could be achieved simply by watching known channels for familiar threats. A counterfeit on a major marketplace or an unauthorized use of a logo on social media could be flagged, reported, and taken down with relatively little effort.
Today, the landscape is different—more fragmented, more dynamic, and far more complex. As brands expand their digital presence, so do the opportunities for misuse. And with that growth comes an explosion of data—listings, posts, profiles, domains, and more—making it harder than ever to distinguish real threats from background noise.
This article explores some emerging challenges in online brand protection, explains why traditional methods are no longer sufficient, and shares what companies can do to protect their IP and reputation more effectively in the face of constant change.
The Data Deluge: Too Much to Monitor; Too Little Insight
Brand protection teams today face an overwhelming volume of information. Platforms generate millions of new pieces of content daily—from product listings and app uploads to social posts and livestreams. Many enforcement programs still rely on broad keyword monitoring or image detection, which can generate thousands of alerts, most of them low-priority or irrelevant.
Without filtering or prioritization, teams can become paralyzed by the sheer scale of the task. Worse, critical threats—like high-volume counterfeit sellers or brand impersonators—can be missed amid the noise.
The key challenge in modern brand protection is no longer access to data. It's making sense of it: distinguishing the false positives from the real risks and acting efficiently.
New Channels: Apps and Live Shopping
Online commerce no longer happens only on marketplaces. Infringements now emerge through newer, less regulated channels such as:
- Mobile apps: These can misuse trademarks or logos, offer counterfeit goods, or mimic a brand's look and feel to deceive consumers.
- Live shopping and social commerce: Hosts sell
products in real-time streams. These formats create urgency and
trust, which infringers exploit to sell lookalike or unauthorized
goods.
These channels are often less transparent, harder to monitor, and faster moving than traditional platforms. A single event can reach thousands of consumers before enforcement is even possible.
Smarter Infringers: Cloaking and Brand Impersonators
Infringers today are more sophisticated. They often use cloaking techniques—where infringing content is served only to specific users (like real consumers) while hiding it from brand monitoring tools or enforcement teams. This makes detection extremely difficult using conventional methods.
At the same time, impersonation fraud is on the rise. Fake profiles, customer support pages, or executive accounts are used to mislead consumers, collect payments, or redirect traffic to malicious websites. Brand impersonators and similar forms of infringement hurt sales and erode consumer trust, potentially causing lasting reputational harm.
The Risk of Focusing on Volume, not Value
Many 'modern' brand protection strategies still emphasize enforcement volume: number of takedowns, speed of removal, or surface-level visibility. But, with so many threats emerging, quantity is no longer enough.
True protection requires focus: identifying which threats truly impact business—high-revenue products, priority markets, and long-term brand equity—and taking action there first.
This is where a smarter approach matters: combining modern brand protection technology that filters noise, with expert oversight that prioritizes impact, not just activity.
What Effective Online Brand Protection Looks Like Today
In this new environment, success depends on moving from reaction to strategy. Effective brand protection today means:
- Using modern brand protection tools that aggregate and help prioritize data across channels
- Collaborating with expert partners who can refine alerts, apply context, and flag critical issues
- Focusing on return on investment, not just the number of
takedowns, but the real-world results of enforcement: disrupted
networks, protected sales, preserved brand reputation
No company can stop every infringement but by acting in the right areas, they can protect what truly matters.
Conclusion: Clarity over Visibility
The online threat landscape will only grow more complex. New platforms will emerge, infringers will adapt, and data will continue to multiply. The most resilient brands won't try to chase everything. They'll adopt systems and partnerships that bring clarity to the chaos—helping them act decisively, efficiently, and strategically.
Because in modern brand protection, success isn't about seeing everything—it's about seeing what matters and knowing what to do next.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
