Lazada takes a firm stand against counterfeit goods, alongside global brand partners
Championing the protection of intellectual property rights in Southeast Asia, the e-commerce giant leads a collective effort in the fight against fakes in online marketplaces.
Lazada Group’s chief risk officer Alan Chan (first from right) at IP Week @ SG held last month. Photo: IPOS
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Adding to cart has become part and parcel of the modern-day shopping routine. Unwittingly purchasing a counterfeit product, however, is certainly not part of the deal.
As online shopping continues to soar, the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods has become more rampant online, with malicious agents seeking opportunities to prey on unsuspecting consumers and business owners.
In Southeast Asia, leading brands are banding together to tackle this malady. The Southeast Asia e-commerce Anti-counterfeiting (SeCA) Working Group, spearheaded by Lazada Group in partnership with global players such as HP and BMW, aims to address issues around counterfeit trade, the preservation of intellectual property rights (IPR) and consumer protection in the online retail space.
SAFEGUARDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
According to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), keeping an eye on IPR is important as it protects the innovations and creations of a business.
At an industry fireside chat in May last year, Ms Joyce Ang, senior vice president for intellectual property protection at Lazada Group, noted that the absence of an industry standard undermined IPR protection in Southeast Asia.
“Adopting common IPR protection standards would provide a unified understanding of the expectations from the industry,” said Ms Ang. “This would make it easier to streamline communications with different brand holders by using the industry standard as the basis for discussion.”
A year down the road, Lazada’s recommendation came to fruition at IPOS’ signature event IP Week @ SG held last month, where the SeCA Working Group was officially unveiled.
A key charter for the group is to develop best practices and standards on IPR protection. The foundation has been laid for the establishment of an online directory that will house IPR protection policies, programmes, tools and resources provided by Lazada and other participating e-commerce platforms. The directory aims to ensure that avenues for IPR owners to combat IPR-infringing activities related to e-commerce are within easy reach.
“On the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an accelerated need for open and constructive dialogue and information exchange between IPR owners and e-commerce platforms,” said Ms Ang. “As the participating platforms’ policies may evolve over time, the consortium will also work on updates to the directory regularly, to accurately reflect changes and developments.”
PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES
A trailblazer in the IP space, Lazada is the first e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia to form a dedicated IPR Protection Team. With product authenticity at the core of its mission, the team is intent on preserving the trust that consumers and merchants put in Lazada. “The e-commerce environment should be premised upon respect for IPR, fair and just practices, and quality merchandise,” said Ms Ang.
Testament to this commitment, Lazada Group launched a pilot programme to proactively detect and remove counterfeit goods from its platform in March 2020. “In 2021, 98 per cent of the products removed through our efforts occurred before a single sale took place,” Ms Ang revealed.
Recently, Lazada crossed the milestone of having over one million active sellers onboard each month. In tandem with this increase, the group has ramped up efforts pertaining to IPR infringement reporting, removal mechanisms and IPR awareness building among merchants.
Still, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To protect IPR in the digital space, industry-wide cooperation is critical. Said Lazada Group’s chief risk officer Alan Chan: “Partnerships are a key enabler to fostering a trusted and safe e-commerce environment, especially as more businesses look to leverage opportunities in the digital economy in the next phase of growth. Together, we can build a sustainable and fair e-commerce ecosystem for all participants across Southeast Asia.”
Learn more about Lazada’s intellectual property protection efforts.
