AAFA submits comments on OECD draft marketplace guidelines to USPTO
AAFA’s detailed feedback include encompassing all online platforms, including social media, social commerce, and others across the devalue chain, and enshrining ‘know your customer’ (KYC) measures to outline clear standards to unmask nefarious actors.
Reliable pathways for consumers to hold online platforms accountable for facilitating the sale of counterfeit product by third-party sellers should reflect in the draft voluntary OECD guidelines for countering illicit trade in counterfeit goods on online marketplaces, AAFA recently suggested to the US Patent and Trademark Office.
“The final guidelines must raise the floor of where we are today,” it noted.
It also includes long-term proactive measures by platforms that are designed to prevent counterfeit listings before a consumer can purchase a product, using information provided by brands and available in public domains, and outlining robust and effective repeat infringer policies by platforms with stay down measures across platforms within the same company and beyond.
AAFA suggested to USTPO that accountability should be allocated for not following the best practices. Unhelpful ambiguities should be removed, and liability should be addressed with accountability across each party.
It called for revising the OECD draft guidelines to promote the development of stronger laws and information-sharing practices between governments, online platforms and brand owners that will incentivise action, including through legal liability.
“The final guidelines must raise the floor of where we are today,” AAFA added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
