Anti-Counterfeiting

Counterfeiting can erode brand value, divert legitimate sales, damage carefully developed reputations, and expose consumers to products that do not meet the brand owner's standards. Effective anti-counterfeiting programs require more than responding to individual infringements. They require coordinated strategies for identifying counterfeit activity, disrupting distribution channels, enforcing intellectual property rights, and preventing repeat violations.

At Perilla Knox & Hildebrandt, we help businesses develop and execute anti-counterfeiting strategies designed around their brands, products, markets, and enforcement priorities. Our attorneys represent clients in matters involving counterfeit goods sold through online marketplaces, websites, social media, physical distribution channels, and other commercial platforms.

Our approach combines trademark enforcement and litigation experience with practical intellectual property counseling. From targeted marketplace takedowns to federal court litigation, we help clients select enforcement tools appropriate to the scale of the problem and the commercial value of the rights at issue.

Strategic brand protection and enforcement.

Successful anti-counterfeiting programs begin with strong intellectual property rights and a clear understanding of how counterfeit products reach consumers. We work with clients to identify the trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, designs, and other intellectual property that can be used to stop unauthorized sellers and counterfeit products.

Our attorneys investigate suspected infringement, evaluate evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, and develop enforcement strategies based on the nature and scope of the activity. Depending on the circumstances, those strategies may include cease-and-desist demands, online marketplace enforcement, administrative remedies, coordination with customs authorities, or litigation.

For businesses facing recurring counterfeiting activity, we can also help develop broader enforcement programs designed to prioritize significant threats, efficiently address repeat offenders, and protect intellectual property across multiple sales channels.

Online marketplace and digital enforcement.

E-commerce has dramatically expanded the ability of counterfeiters to reach consumers. Counterfeit products may appear across major online marketplaces, independent websites, social media platforms, and other digital channels, often under changing seller names and accounts.

We assist clients with identifying and documenting online infringement and pursuing available platform enforcement procedures. Where voluntary takedown mechanisms are insufficient, we evaluate additional enforcement options against sellers, operators, and other responsible parties.

Our objective is not simply to remove an individual listing, but to develop an enforcement strategy that makes continued infringement more difficult and protects the client's legitimate distribution channels.

Federal court litigation and emergency relief.

Some counterfeit operations require immediate and decisive legal action. We represent intellectual property owners in federal court actions involving trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and related claims.

Where appropriate, we pursue emergency and preliminary remedies intended to prevent continued sales, preserve evidence, restrain assets, or otherwise protect the client's rights while litigation proceeds. We also pursue available monetary remedies, including counterfeit-related statutory damages and other relief authorized by applicable law.

Our litigation strategy is developed with the client's ultimate business objective in mind—whether that means stopping a particular counterfeiter, disrupting a larger distribution network, protecting a critical sales channel, or creating a meaningful deterrent against future infringement.

Coordinated enforcement across borders.

Counterfeiting frequently crosses national borders, with products manufactured in one jurisdiction, distributed through another, and ultimately sold to consumers in the United States and elsewhere. Addressing those activities can require coordinated enforcement across multiple jurisdictions and legal systems.

Through relationships with intellectual property professionals around the world, we assist clients in coordinating international anti-counterfeiting strategies. We can work with foreign counsel and other service providers to address manufacturing, distribution, importation, and online sales occurring across multiple jurisdictions.

We also advise clients regarding intellectual property recordation and enforcement strategies involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other available mechanisms for preventing counterfeit products from entering legitimate channels of commerce.

Our Clients.

We represent businesses ranging from emerging brands to established domestic and international companies seeking to protect their products, reputations, and customers from counterfeit activity. Our attorneys work with clients to develop enforcement programs appropriate to the scope of the problem and the value of the intellectual property involved.

We recognize that anti-counterfeiting is ultimately an economic exercise. Enforcement resources should be directed toward conduct that presents meaningful risks to the client's brand, revenue, distribution network, or customers. Our goal is to provide practical, scalable strategies that disrupt counterfeit activity while making efficient use of the client's enforcement resources.