1) Counterfeiting: Counterfeiting is one of the most harmful forms of trademark infringement. Counterfeit products are illegal fakes that imitate the real thing, fooling customers into believing they are getting the genuine product. Other times, customers are aware but look for the opportunity to buy a fake instead of paying the full price for the original goods.
Today, everything is counterfeited, from sneakers to toys, pharmaceuticals and pesticides, and from olive oil to automotive parts. Counterfeits are not only harmful to brands. They create health, safety, and environmental risks and can be dangerous for consumers. Most counterfeits are sold online through marketplaces and social media accounts.
2) Digital Piracy: Online copyright infringements are also called digital piracy. A copyright violation occurs when a third party uses all or a portion of a protected work without the consent of the owner. Sometimes, copyright infringement means that a third party uses a protected work in a way that violates copyright protection even though it’s not an exact replica. Whether done for malicious purposes or not is irrelevant – copyright infringement is illegal except when it falls under one of the exceptions to copyright violations, such as fair use.
Digital piracy includes various types of infringements, such as:
a. Unauthorized images – original photographs and graphics replicated and uploaded online.
b. Content copying – Stealing a brand’s copy or content and uploading it to a social media account or listing.
c. Illegal streaming – It is forbidden to upload works like music or videos without authorization (and yet it happens all the time).
3) Patent Violation: Patent infringement occurs when someone makes, uses, sells, or offers to sell a patented product or design without the consent of the patent owner. For example, when a third-party leases someone else’s patent.
4) Brand Impersonation: Misleading domain names (such as lookalike domains and almost-identical domain names), lookalike websites, app impersonation, fraudulent social media accounts and more which replicate your identity and confuse unsuspecting customers into believing they represent a business that they don’t.
5) Stealing secrets: The copy, distribution or otherwise use of confidential information without the consent of the business or brand is prohibited.