February 05, 2021
Overseas Online Counterfeit Monitoring Group Prevents KRW 420 Billion in Damages
Overseas Online Counterfeit Monitoring Group Leads to Crack Down of Counterfeits Products of Korean Companies and KRW 420 Billion Prevented in Damages.
- Removal of 144,000 online posts selling counterfeit products and employment opportunities provided for multicultural families, etc. -
□ KIPO Commissioner Yong-Rae Kim announced that the Overseas Online Counterfeit Product Monitoring Group (hereafter “Monitoring Group”) resulted in a total of 144,000 online posts of counterfeit products to be blocked during its five-months operation (from August to the end of December) last year. As a result, KRW 420 billion worth of damage was prevented.
※ Calculation of total damages prevented : Average Sales Price of Genuine Products per Company (approx. KRW 63,000) × Deleted Posts (144,000 Posts) × Average Number of Products Sold (47 Sales, as of 2020 China) = Total (KRW 426.3 Billion)
ㅇ The Monitoring Group was launched in 2020 under a third supplementary budget to strengthen measures against counterfeit products with focus on six ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines) and Taiwan. There were 200 members including career-interrupted women, members of multicultural families, etc. Additionally, its has helped create contact-free digital employment opportunities pursuant to “The COVID-19 Third Wave Response: Customized Employment Stability Measure” by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
ㅇ Monitoring was primarily conducted on counterfeit products being sold on ASEAN’s two most popular e-commerce websites “Lazada” and “Shopee”. Ultimately, of the total number of removed counterfeit product listings, 70% was in the category of K-pop goods and fashion accessories.
□Taking into overall consideration to the number of Korean companies and the foreign markets of entry, as well as the intellectual property rights being infringed and the volume of distribution, the Philippines was found with the most cases of online counterfeits product removed, then Indonesia and Singapore.
□ As KIPO was able to secure part of the main budget of 2021, the Monitoring Group will continue its operation. Efforts will be focused on minimizing damages suffered by Korean exporters due to distribution of counterfeit products.
ㅇ A member of the Monitoring Group with Vietnamese origins mentioned the benefits of being able to remote work while taking care of their children, as well as being able to utilize their native language. Also, especially in this challenging time of COVID-19, the Monitoring Group not only provides employment to people but also helps Korean companies.
ㅇ Another member who joined the program, a businessman in the cosmetics industry, revealed the difficult situations that occur when overseas buyers complain about counterfeit products in their local area. It was emphasized that SMEs face limitations in dealing with counterfeit products that continue to appear in overseas online markets, therefore, this project by the government greatly helps in terms of time and costs.
□ As expressed by Director General Yeon-woo Jeong of the Intellectual Property & International Cooperation Bureau at KIPO, there were many achievements such as the removal of a substantial number of online posts of counterfeit product distribution despite the short operation of the Monitoring Group with last year’s subsidiary budget. He added that going forward, it will be important to strengthen training of the Monitoring Group and to fortify documentary evidence of violations, thereby enhancing the government’s support to abolish the distribution of counterfeit products.