An American clothing company and an omnichannel retailer for multiple foreign brands have signed an agreement with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) that will actively combat counterfeit and pirated goods in the online space.
The e-commerce memorandum of agreement between IPOPHL and the GUESS Group of Companies and Trimark Group Holdings was signed at the Trademark Conference Philippines last July. The two join 40 other signatories that include online shopping platforms, global and local brand owners and business associations.
Under the MOU, members commit to establishing a code of practice in pushing back rampant sales of counterfeit and pirated goods online, promoting cooperation between the signatories, and implementing an efficient notice-and-takedown scheme.
Under the MOU, e-commerce platform members, namely Lazada, Shopee, Zalora and TikTok Shop, must observe a swift notice-and-takedown procedure and take proactive steps against counterfeits on their platform. In turn, brands commit to notify the platforms of infringing activities and emerging schemes to effectively fight counterfeiting at its source.
Rowel Barba, IPOPHL director- general welcomed the new MOU members as critical allies in containing counterfeiting scene.
Barba noted that apparel historically takes up a significant share by value under the books of the Bureau of Customs, which accounts for the lion’s share of the annual seizures.
Trimark has 50 brands in its portfolio from Guess, Mango, Terranova, Vans, to Kiko Milano sold in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.
