Brand Protection Trends in 2025: AI, E-Commerce, and Beyond

The global trade in counterfeit goods continues to grow (projected to reach $1.79 trillion by 2030, up 75% from 2023), fueled by technological advances and the expansion of online commerce. In response, brands are deploying cutting-edge tools and adapting to new regulations. This thought leadership piece explores four key trends shaping brand protection in 2025: the rise of AI and automation in anti-counterfeiting, the surge of counterfeit activity on marketplaces, the new frontier of protecting NFTs and digital goods, and the impact of emerging regulations and platform policies.

Rise of AI and Automation in Anti-Counterfeiting

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a double-edged sword in brand protection. On one hand, AI empowers brands to detect and combat infringements at a scale impossible for human teams alone. On the other hand, bad actors are leveraging AI to create more convincing fakes and evade traditional detection. In 2025, this “AI arms race” is redefining how both counterfeiters and brand protectors operate.

AI as a tool for counterfeiters: Sophisticated counterfeiters now use generative AI to produce highly realistic fake content. For example, AI-generated product images can be created to showcase counterfeit goods that look authentic, helping listings blend in on e-commerce sites. Free or inexpensive AI image generators (like Midjourney or DALL-E) enable sellers to fabricate photos of products that don’t actually exist, avoiding the need to copy official images that might be detected. Similarly, AI text generators allow the mass production of fake product reviews and descriptions, making it easier to build credible-looking seller profiles for fraudulent goods. Counterfeiters are also experimenting with deepfakes and AI-driven impersonation. Deepfake videos and voice clones can mimic brand ambassadors or create misleading ads, tricking consumers into believing a fake is endorsed by the real brand. Entire copycat websites and social media accounts can be spun up with AI-generated content that closely mirrors a brand’s identity. These AI-assisted tactics significantly lower the barrier for fraud, allowing scammers to target brands and consumers with unprecedented realism and scale.

AI as a defense for brands: At the same time, companies are turning to AI and automation to fortify their anti-counterfeiting efforts. Modern brand protection software employs AI to scan vast amounts of online content and flag potential infringements instantly. Image recognition algorithms can recognize logos or product shapes in images and detect counterfeit listings even when sellers try to obscure logos. Natural language processing models analyze product descriptions and metadata to catch subtle signs of trademark misuse or counterfeit claims. AI-powered web crawlers can parse millions of websites, marketplaces, and social posts continuously, far outpacing manual monitoring. As a result, brands can respond faster and more efficiently to takedown counterfeit listings.

Leading e-commerce platforms are also harnessing AI to protect their ecosystems. Amazon, for instance, uses AI at enormous scale to police its marketplace. The company reports that its automated systems now block over 99% of suspected fraudulent listings before they go live, sparing brands from even needing to report them. In 2024 Amazon seized more than 15 million counterfeit products destined for its fulfillment centers – more than double the prior year – thanks in part to AI tools that intercept fakes early. These tools scan billions of listing updates daily, using computer vision to spot knock-off products from images and using machine learning to analyze text and pricing for red flags. AI models even cross-reference data points like seller account info and IP addresses to map criminal networks. This blend of AI and automation helps companies like Amazon identify counterfeit operations at their roots and collaborate with law enforcement on raids (over 60 factory raids in 2024 with hundreds of arrests resulted from such analytics).

The bottom line is that AI has become integral to both offense and defense in brand protection. Counterfeiters exploit AI to scale up their schemes and make fakes harder to detect, while brands and platforms counter with AI to monitor the sprawling online marketplace and respond rapidly. In 2025, successful brand protection programs will likely embrace “hybrid intelligence” – combining advanced AI-driven detection with human expertise – to stay one step ahead of AI-augmented counterfeiters.

Increasing Counterfeit Activity on Marketplaces

The continued explosive growth of e-commerce and online marketplaces has made brand protection more challenging than ever. In 2025, a higher proportion of retail sales is happening online across a multitude of platforms – from global giants like Amazon and Alibaba to newer entrants and niche marketplaces. This ubiquity of online marketplaces, coupled with the ease of third-party selling, has led to a surge in counterfeit activity on these platforms.

Volume and accessibility: Major marketplaces host millions (even billions) of product listings, making it virtually impossible to manually vet each one. Retailers like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and emerging players such as Temu have opened the floodgates to third-party sellers, which is great for enabling small businesses but also provides opportunities for counterfeiters to slip in fake goods under a brand’s name. The sheer scale means that even with anti-counterfeit measures in place, many fake listings can appear and reappear faster than a human team could catch. As SnapDragon, an online brand protection firm, notes: the volume of listings makes it “challenging to manually monitor and identify unauthorized items” across these marketplaces. Counterfeiters often operate multiple seller accounts and continuously relist removed items, playing cat-and-mouse with enforcement teams.

New marketplace hotbeds: Emerging platforms in 2025 are creating new frontiers for fakes. A prime example is TikTok Shop, the shopping feature of the popular social video app. TikTok Shop blends entertainment with e-commerce, allowing influencers and merchants to sell products during live streams and videos. Its rapid rise (reaching a billion users) and real-time, ephemeral nature make it “especially tricky for brands to monitor effectively”. Counterfeit sellers have been quick to exploit TikTok’s reach, promoting look-alike products through videos and sometimes directing buyers off-platform to complete illicit sales. Temu, a bargain-focused online marketplace that gained huge popularity for rock-bottom prices, has also become a hotspot for counterfeits. The platform’s emphasis on ultra-cheap deals creates an environment where imitation goods can thrive under the guise of “affordable” finds. In fact, Temu’s surging user base in the West has raised alarms; brands worry about their genuine products being undercut by a flood of cheaper knock-offs on the site. Similarly, Shein, known originally as a fast-fashion retailer, expanded into a third-party marketplace model. Its historically lax approach to IP (with multiple design theft controversies) suggests that as Shein hosts external sellers, counterfeits could proliferate if strict IP enforcement isn’t applied. Brands like Uniqlo, Dr. Martens, and Ralph Lauren have already sued Shein over alleged IP infringements, highlighting the risk.

Evasive tactics by sellers: Counterfeit sellers on marketplaces have grown more savvy in hiding their tracks. Many now intentionally omit brand names and logos from listing titles and images to avoid simple keyword flagging. Instead, they use generic descriptions and slang (e.g. calling a product a “designer-inspired handbag” instead of using the brand name). They might display products at certain angles or blur logos in photos so that automated image filters don’t immediately detect infringement. Some even employ “cloaking” tactics – showing one set of images to automated web crawlers or brand enforcers (e.g. a harmless generic product photo) while showing consumers the actual branded counterfeit image on a different device or page. This technique, sometimes called “desktop vs. mobile cloaking,” was observed as a rising trend where counterfeiters serve clean content to monitors on desktop browsers but show fakes to mobile shoppers. In practice, this means a brand protection team might think a listing is legitimate at first glance, whereas a consumer sees the counterfeit item.

Additionally, social media is intertwined with marketplace counterfeiting. Counterfeit peddlers often use platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Discord to promote “dupe” products and then funnel interested buyers to marketplace listings or private sales channels. For example, on TikTok a subculture called “RepTok” has users openly sharing videos of counterfeit luxury goods (“reps”) and how to get them. These videos garner millions of views and direct viewers to sellers (often via link aggregators or messaging apps) while the actual listings on marketplaces remain deliberately cryptic to evade detection.

Impact and brand responses: The rampant counterfeit activity on marketplaces threatens both brand reputation and consumer safety. Shoppers may unknowingly purchase fakes, leading to disappointment or harm (especially for products like electronics, cosmetics, or pharmaceuticals). For brands, every fake sold is a lost sale and a tarnished name if the inferior counterfeit fails or hurts the consumer. No wonder companies are ramping up efforts to fight back on this front. Amazon’s creation of a dedicated Counterfeit Crimes Unit in 2020 and its annual brand protection reports show a concerted effort to clean up its platform. It has invested over $1 billion annually in these measures and works closely with brands via programs like Project Zero and Brand Registry. Likewise, other marketplaces are introducing authentication services (for instance, eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee program which uses professional authenticators for luxury goods like sneakers and handbags). These moves are both a response to counterfeit proliferation and a bid to reassure consumers that the platforms are safe.

In summary, online marketplaces in 2025 are a primary battleground for brand protection. The ease of global, third-party e-commerce has enabled counterfeiters to reach customers at scale, but brands are deploying new strategies – from advanced monitoring to platform partnerships – to stem the tide. Staying vigilant across all sales channels, including up-and-coming apps, is now essential to protect one’s brand integrity.

Brand Protection for NFTs and Digital Goods: The New Frontier

As commerce and culture extend into the digital realm, brands in 2025 must also protect their intellectual property in virtual spaces. The rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital goods has opened exciting opportunities for brands to engage with consumers – but it has simultaneously created a new frontier for trademark infringement and counterfeiting. This trend is pushing brand protection beyond physical products and web domains, into the world of blockchain and bytes.

The challenge of counterfeit NFTs: NFTs exploded onto the scene in recent years as unique digital assets representing art, collectibles, and even brand-related items. Unfortunately, wherever valuable assets go, counterfeiters follow. Bad actors can create and sell “counterfeit” NFTs that misuse a company’s brand imagery or names without permission. For instance, an opportunistic creator might mint an NFT collection using a famous logo or product image (say, a sneaker design or a cartoon character owned by a brand) and attempt to profit off the brand’s fans. These fake NFTs can dilute the value of genuine digital collectibles a brand may offer, and confuse consumers about which NFTs are officially associated with the brand. Trademark and copyright violations are rampant – unauthorized NFT projects have appeared featuring everything from luxury fashion trademarks to popular sports team logos. Because NFTs live on decentralized platforms, enforcing against infringers is complex; there is no single “owner” of the marketplace to hold accountable in many cases, and takedown processes vary across platforms.

A landmark case in 2023 underscored the severity of this issue. French luxury house Hermès sued an artist who was selling “MetaBirkin” NFTs – digital artworks depicting the iconic Hermès Birkin bag covered in colorful fur. The artist argued it was artistic expression, but a U.S. jury found that the “MetaBirkin” NFTs infringed Hermès’ trademarks, and a court subsequently banned the sale of those NFTs. The court noted that the use of the Birkin name could mislead consumers into thinking Hermès endorsed these NFTs, causing irreparable harm to the brand. This first-of-its-kind NFT trademark trial set an important precedent: existing IP laws do apply in the digital asset realm, and brands are willing to litigate to protect their marks in virtual marketplaces.

Broader digital goods and the metaverse: Beyond NFTs, brands have to consider other digital goods such as virtual apparel for avatars, branded items in video games, and presence in the metaverse. For example, a luxury fashion brand’s designs might be unofficially replicated as skins or 3D models in a popular online game or virtual world, effectively counterfeiting in a purely digital sense. If users can download or trade these unauthorized digital goods, it poses a similar brand dilution and revenue problem as physical counterfeits. This is why companies like Nike and others have started to file trademark applications for virtual goods and form teams to handle metaverse brand protection. We are seeing the convergence of IP protection with digital rights management.

Protective strategies and opportunities: On the flip side, the same technologies creating these challenges also offer new tools for brand protection. Some brands are embracing NFTs as a means of authentication and traceability for their products. An NFT can act like a digital certificate of authenticity, recorded on a blockchain that anyone can verify. Companies have begun attaching NFTs to physical products or issuing NFTs that correspond to a legitimate item – for instance, a high-end watch might come with an NFT proving its authenticity and ownership chain. This use of NFTs provides a tamper-proof record and could help combat physical counterfeits (buyers in secondary markets can check the NFT to ensure the item is real). In trademark law, there’s even discussion that NFTs might serve as proof of use of a trademark in commerce, which could influence how brands secure their rights for digital goods.

To safeguard their brands, companies are extending their monitoring to NFT marketplaces and crypto platforms. Just as they monitor eBay or Amazon, now they must keep an eye on OpenSea, Rarible, and other NFT exchanges for unauthorized uses of their name or imagery. Advanced brand protection services are adapting: for example, SnapDragon (the brand protection firm) notes that its software now scans NFT marketplaces and social media to identify counterfeit NFTs and IP infringements as part of its coverage. The legal and takedown mechanisms are still catching up in this domain, but early action is key – often, swift cease-and-desist notices or public statements can discourage copycat NFT minters.

Education and policy are also key. Brands are educating their consumer base on what official digital merchandise or NFTs they offer (and that any others are likely unaffiliated). Meanwhile, the legal landscape is evolving; more cases like Hermès’ will further define how trademarks are enforced in virtual spaces, and we may see new regulations addressing digital asset fraud. In 2025, forward-thinking companies treat their trademarks and copyrights in the digital world with the same vigilance as in the physical world. The new frontier of NFTs and digital goods is exciting, but it requires brands to expand their protection playbook to cover blockchain and virtual marketplaces.

Regulatory Changes and Stricter Platform Policies

As the threats of counterfeiting and IP infringement grow, regulators and online platforms worldwide are cracking down. The period around 2024–2025 is marked by significant legal and policy shifts designed to bolster brand protection and make marketplaces more accountable. These changes are creating a more favorable environment for brand owners, though they also raise the bar for compliance.

In the European Union, the Digital Services Act (DSA) has emerged as a game-changer. Taking full effect in 2024, the DSA is a comprehensive regulation that, among many things, targets the sale of illegal and counterfeit goods online. It obliges online intermediaries to proactively identify and remove illegal content including IP-infringing listings, rather than waiting solely for takedown requests. Major platforms (especially “very large” ones like Amazon or Facebook Marketplace) must now “trace infringing sellers” and “simplify the submission of infringement complaints”, bringing more transparency to who is selling goods and how takedowns are handled. Importantly, the DSA requires platforms to disclose their content moderation practices and results, and non-compliance can lead to hefty fines up to 6% of global annual turnover. This has spurred platforms to bolster their brand protection processes; for example, they need better seller verification and faster response systems to avoid penalties. European brand owners also benefit from new support structures (Digital Services Coordinators in each country) who can help enforce these rules and even penalize platforms or sellers for serious infringements.

In the United States, a notable development has been the enactment of the INFORM Consumers Act in June 2023. This law increases transparency in e-commerce by compelling online marketplaces to verify and disclose the identities of high-volume third-party sellersv. Shoppers should now be able to see information like the seller’s name and contact details on product pages or receipts for sellers above a certain sales threshold. The idea is to deter criminals selling counterfeit or stolen goods under anonymity – making it easier to trace and hold them accountable. Marketplaces also must provide a clear way for consumers to report suspicious or fake listings and are expected to promptly address such reports. The INFORM Act essentially forces platforms to share some of the responsibility in policing their sellers, under threat of FTC enforcement. Early signs indicate platforms have updated their seller onboarding and reporting interfaces to comply.

Another U.S. legislative proposal receiving attention is the SHOP SAFE Act, which, if passed, would further tighten obligations for marketplaces. SHOP SAFE (Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms) would require online marketplaces to vet sellers and remove counterfeit listings for goods that impact health and safety, making them potentially liable if they don’t make adequate efforts. It provides a sort of safe harbor: if a platform implements robust screening, takedown, and repeat offender policies, it could avoid liability for counterfeits sold by third parties. While as of 2025 SHOP SAFE has not yet been enacted into law, the discussion around it has put pressure on marketplaces to voluntarily improve their practices. Combined with INFORM, the direction in the U.S. is clearly toward greater accountability for online sellers and more collaboration with brand owners.

Platform-led initiatives: In parallel with government regulations, the big online platforms have introduced stricter policies and programs to fight counterfeits. As mentioned, Amazon’s investment in AI and enforcement is substantial, resulting in preemptively blocking the vast majority of suspect listings. Amazon also expanded programs like Transparency (product serialization) – over 2.5 billion products have been uniquely serialized to enable item-level authentication. eBay’s authenticity checks and Etsy’s crackdowns on IP-infringing merchandise are other examples of platforms stepping up. Alibaba has increased seller verification and works with brands through its IP protection portal, and in some cases shares information with law enforcement to target counterfeit manufacturers. Social media platforms (like Instagram, Facebook) updated their commerce policies to explicitly ban sales of counterfeit items and introduced easier reporting tools for IP holders to remove counterfeit posts. While enforcement effectiveness varies, the policies at least signal that fakes are not welcome, and repeat offender sellers are more likely to get banned.

Internationally, countries known as sources of counterfeit production are also tightening their IP laws. Notably, China proposed significant amendments to its trademark law aimed at curbing bad-faith registrations and repeat infringements. The draft changes include requiring proof of use to keep a trademark (to discourage squatting) and explicit provisions against trademark dilution and bad-faith filings. Given China’s central role in manufacturing (both genuine and counterfeit goods), stronger IP enforcement there could have global ripple effects, making it easier for brands to crack down on factories and sellers of fake goods at the source. Indeed, in 2024 Chinese authorities cooperated in large-scale actions like the raid on the Pandabuy operation (a proxy shipping service implicated in moving tons of counterfeit luxury goods) that led to dozens of arrests and seizure of goods “enough to fill 20 football stadiums”. Such cross-border enforcement efforts are likely to increase with diplomatic and legal pressure.

The takeaway: The regulatory landscape of 2025 is increasingly favoring brand protection. Laws like the DSA and INFORM Act mean that online marketplaces can no longer take a hands-off approach – they must actively police counterfeits or face consequences. Brands should leverage these new rules by promptly reporting violations and collaborating with platform compliance teams. At the same time, brands must ensure their own compliance (for example, providing the documentation needed for swift takedowns, and in Europe, being aware of the more formal complaint channels under DSA). The momentum of legal reform and policy change is a positive sign that governments recognize the counterfeit problem’s economic and safety impact. Companies that stay informed about these changes and participate in industry coalitions will have an edge in pushing for even stronger protections.

Conclusion

In 2025, brand protection is a rapidly evolving arena driven by technological innovation and a shifting regulatory framework. AI, e-commerce, and new digital platforms are transforming both the threat landscape and the defense toolkit. Brands now face AI-enabled counterfeiters who move at high speed, but they also have unprecedented AI capabilities at their disposal to root out infringements in real time. The proliferation of online marketplaces and social commerce means every brand must monitor a wider array of channels – from Amazon storefronts to TikTok streams – to catch abuse early and often. Meanwhile, the rise of NFTs and digital goods has extended the battleground into cyberspace, demanding that brand protection strategies become as nuanced about blockchain as they are about the supply chain.

The encouraging news is that awareness and support for brand protection are stronger than ever. Regulators across the globe have begun instituting rules that compel transparency and responsibility, making it harder for counterfeiters to hide in the shadows. Major platforms, under scrutiny from both governments and consumers, are investing in systems and programs to create safer shopping ecosystems. These trends point to a future where brand protection is proactive, tech-enabled, and collaborative. Companies that succeed will be those that embrace advanced solutions (like AI-driven monitoring and authentication technologies) and engage with policy changes to enforce their rights.

Ultimately, protecting a brand in 2025 and beyond requires a 360-degree view – guarding the physical and digital, leveraging innovation, and uniting efforts with stakeholders from customers to law enforcement. By staying ahead of these trends and adapting quickly, brands can not only shield their reputation and consumers but also help shape a marketplace where authenticity prevails over fraud. The fight against counterfeiting is far from over, but with the combined force of technology, awareness, and regulation, brands are more empowered than ever to meet the challenge.