Article · Intellectual Property
Defending a Brand on the Internet: A Strategic Enforcement Playbook
- Type
- Article
- Jurisdiction
- National
- Date
- 2025-09-21
- Topic
- Intellectual Property
This playbook explains how a brand owner enforces its rights across the internet, from the federal registration that unlocks every enforcement channel through the specific tools that stop cybersquatters, counterfeiters, gray-market sellers, and impersonators. It maps the Lanham Act's four operative sections, compares the UDRP and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, and works through keyword-advertising and initial-interest-confusion doctrine. It details the counterfeiting arsenal—treble and statutory damages, ex parte seizures, Schedule A actions, marketplace programs, contributory liability, and customs recordation—and the narrower gray-market theories built on material differences and quality control. It then covers DMCA takedowns, social-media impersonation, and the real limits the First Amendment and Section 230 place on policing criticism. The article closes with a repeatable prevent-monitor-triage-enforce-measure program, a worked multi-threat hypothetical, and a practitioner FAQ, all anchored in controlling statutes and leading cases.
The full text of this document is available to Executive subscribers and above. See plans.