Anti Counterfeiting in Thailand
Online anti-counterfeiting enforcement in Thailand at a glance
In a nutshell, what should a rights holder know about enforcing against counterfeit goods sold online in Thailand?
In Thailand, there is no specific legislation addressing online selling of counterfeit goods. However, brand owners can rely on several laws to protect their IP rights in Thailand when counterfeit goods are identified on online platforms and websites.
The main law enabling IP owners to take action against trademark infringement is the Trademark Act BE 2534 (1991). Brand owners may bring an action for trademark infringement against those parties – including online sellers – who violate the Trademark Act’s guarantee that the registered owner of a trademark has exclusive rights to use the mark in connection with the associated goods. In addition, counterfeiting is a violation of Sections 108-110, punishable by imprisonment and fines.
Alternatively, brand owners may rely on measures in the Computer Crimes Act B.E. 2560 (2017) that allows them (with the approval from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society) to file a petition with the court to permanently block infringing online posts. Some platform operators also allow brand owners to directly submit a takedown notice with supporting evidence, after which the platform operators will voluntarily take down the infringing posts.
However, the most common enforcement challenge against the sale of counterfeit goods online is that sellers may quickly repost or change their online identity once they are reported. It may be difficult for brand owners to effectively eliminate online sales in their entirety. Therefore, brand owners may consider tracing an infringement back to its root cause by conducting an in-depth investigation into the actual location of the infringer and their warehouse. After identifying the actual seller, a brand owner can then take decisive legal action against the infringer in order to ensure that the infringer cannot further continue their infringing activities. This can be done by requesting that the police arrest the infringer and seize all the counterfeit products in their inventory.
Online counterfeit hotspots you should know in your jurisdiction
Lazada
Description: Lazada is an international e-commerce company founded in 2012 and owned by Alibaba Group. It has more than 50 million active buyers annually.
Counterfeit risk factor: Very high
Fakes known to be sold there: Cosmetics, home appliances, bags, shoes, and accessories.
How to report counterfeits: Unsurprisingly, due to its ownership, reporting is through the IP protection platform of Alibaba Group.
Challenges of enforcement at this online marketplace: Sellers on this platform often use fake names and addresses, which makes it difficult to track their true identities. In addition, after being reported or taken down, some bad-faith sellers quickly repost the same products in order to continue their illegal sales activities.
Recommendations to brand owners: To combat and prevent online infringement, brand owners should regularly conduct online market surveys in order to monitor goods that are repeatedly posted, review the actions of each seller, and investigate each active seller in order to identify the source of the counterfeit goods. In addition, as counterfeit goods are often identified as being imported, brand owners may wish to file a customs recordation with the Department of Intellectual Property in order to enable customs officers to monitor and seize suspicious counterfeit goods during importation, exportation, or transit.
Shopee
Description:Shopee launched in 2015 and has become one of the leading e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, including in Thailand.
Counterfeit risk factor: Very high
Fakes known to be sold there: Cosmetics, home appliances, bags, shoes, accessories
How to report counterfeits: Through Shopee’s reporting system.
Challenges: Sellers on this platform often use fake names and addresses that make it difficult to track their true identities. In addition, after being reported or taken down, some bad-faith sellers quickly repost the same products in order to continue their illegal sales activities.
Recommendations: To combat and prevent online infringement, brand owners should regularly conduct online market surveys in order to monitor goods that are repeatedly posted, review the actions of each seller, and investigate the active sellers in order to identify the source of the goods. In addition, as counterfeit goods are often identified as being imported, brand owners may wish to file a customs recordation with the Department of Intellectual Property in order to enable customs officers to monitor and seize suspicious counterfeit goods during importation, exportation, or transit.
JD Central
Description: JD Central is an e-commerce joint venture between Central Group, the biggest retail conglomerate in Thailand, and JD.com, the largest retailer in China.
Counterfeit risk factor: Low
Fakes known to be sold there: Home appliances, mobile phones, cosmetics, IT gadgets (eg, Xiaomi, NARS, Apple).
How to report counterfeits: Through email at ‘cs@jd.co.th’ or via the platform’s help center.
Challenges: JD Central claims that all products for sale on their platform are 100% authentic and focus on a business-to-consumer model, rather than a consumer-to-consumer model. However, presently, ordinary users may apply to sell products on the platform; thus, there is an increased risk of finding counterfeit goods on the platform.
Recommendations: As ordinary users may now apply to be vendors on the JD Central platform selling products outside brands’ official verified stores, brand owners must be proactive in monitoring products on this platform. To combat online infringement, brand owners should not only regularly conduct online market surveys and report any infringing listings, but also consider taking strong legal action against repeat infringers.
Weloveshopping
Description: WeLoveShopping is a consumer to consumer platform catering to resellers and small merchants, with more than 320,000 sellers based in Thailand.
Counterfeit risk factor: Average
Fakes known to be sold there: Clothes, perfumes, accessories, cosmetics, and gadgets
How to report counterfeits: Through email at (‘support@weloveshopping.com’).
Challenges: It is challenging to find out information about the sellers, including their identity and contact details, as this website operates differently than other platforms. There are no specific measures in order to tackle issues of counterfeit goods on this platform.
Recommendations: As it is very difficult to contact sellers on this platform, and there are no specific measures for counterfeit goods, brand owners must be especially proactive in conducting monitoring programs, investigating sources of any suspicious counterfeit goods, and taking strong legal action against any infringers.
Konvy
Description: Konvy is an online beauty retailer that offers a variety of name-brand skincare, makeup, fragrances and supplements for customers in Thailand.
Counterfeit risk factor: Average
Fakes known to be sold there: Clothes, perfumes, health and beauty products.
How to report counterfeits: Reports can be made via email (‘support@konvy.com’).
Challenges of enforcement at this online marketplace: Products sold on this platform are mostly cosmetics, perfumes, and other health and beauty products. The website guarantees the authenticity of the products, but as individual sellers may create their own accounts to sell items, it is possible that there are some counterfeit goods on this platform.
Recommendations to brand owners: Although this platform guarantees the authenticity of their products, it may be challenging for the platform to monitor and recheck all the products sold by individual sellers. Thus, brand owners must be especially proactive in conducting monitoring programs. To combat and prevent online infringement, brand owners should regularly conduct online market surveys in order to monitor goods that are repeatedly posted, review the actions of each seller, and investigate the active sellers in order to identify the source of the goods.
Kaidee
Description: Kaidee is an online shopping source for buy-sell online new and second-hand products.
Counterfeit risk factor: Average
Fakes known to be sold there: Bags, perfumes, cosmetics, mobile phones/smart phones, and current trending goods.
How to report counterfeits: Brand owners can reach out to Kaidee by email (‘cs@kaidee.com’).
Challenges: Even though there is a very large variety of goods, most products on this platform are second hand. Therefore, it is challenging for brand owners to identify genuine and counterfeit goods visually, due to differences in the appearance of used items.
Recommendations: As there are many second hand and other products for sale on this platform, brand owners must employ special verification tools, apart from determining whether a product is genuine or fake from the appearance of the product itself; for example, including a specific barcode, QR code or numbers for each product line. In addition, brand owners should be proactive in conducting monitoring programs and taking action against online infringers.
