table of contents
A company representative's concerns
One company developed a product with a distinctive design through the efforts of its designers and obtained a design right.
Then one day, a customer contacts us with the following message:
"Products with designs that are identical to yours are being sold on an online shopping site."
The surprised staff member checked and found that a product with a design very similar to their own was indeed on sale.
As you can see, when you discover a product that appears to be a counterfeit, you may have a number of concerns. Our firm provides appropriate services tailored to your concerns, such as the following:
- Want to detect the sale and import of counterfeit goods?
- Want to eliminate counterfeit products and ensure sales of genuine products
- I want to remove counterfeit products from my website and stop their sale.
- I want to stop the import of counterfeit goods.
- I don't know the specific steps or how to proceed
The growing risk of counterfeit goods and necessary countermeasures
In recent years, globalization has progressed, and people, goods, and information are now moving actively across borders. As a result, the number of counterfeit goods being sold on e-commerce (online shopping) sites has also increased sharply.
Designs are important intellectual property for companies. However, the proliferation of counterfeit products can cause serious problems, such as:
- Loss of sales opportunities for genuine products
- Declining credibility and recognition of genuine products
- Causing misunderstanding and distrust among consumers
Current status of counterfeit goods
According to a survey conducted in fiscal year 2024, 236 cases of design-related damage were reported among intellectual property that suffered damage from imitation.
Approximately half of these incidents occur online.
Types | Total number | Intellectual property that has been counterfeited on the Internet | Intellectual property that has been counterfeited outside the internet |
商標 | 675 | 382 | 293 |
design | 236 | 113 | 123 |
Patented inventions and utility models | 220 | 79 | 141 |
Writings | 218 | 148 | 70 |
Trade secrets and know-how | 20 | 8 | 12 |
Other | 57 | 31 | 26 |
No counterfeit products were found | 220 | 112 | 108 |
Source: Summary of the results of the 2024 Intellectual Property Activity Survey (excerpt from Figure 36 on page 29)
Furthermore, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance Customs, the number of border seizures of intellectual property infringing goods reached a record high of 33,019 cases in 6.
・Number of import suspensions: 33,019 (up 4.3% from the previous year) Number of seized items: 1,297,113 (up 22.8% from the previous year) |
Source: Ministry of Finance Customs, "Status of Seizure of Intellectual Property Infringing Goods at Customs in 2024" (dated March 7, 2025)
As can be seen from these data, the risk of design infringement (design imitation) is increasing year by year.
Protecting design rights with "online intellectual property patrols"
In response to the growing damage caused by counterfeiting, HARAKENZO WORLD PATENT & TRADEMARK offers "Online Intellectual Property Patrol," a specialized service for protecting intellectual property, including design rights.
This service aims to protect customers' rights from infringement of design rights by detecting the sale of counterfeit products online at an early stage and taking appropriate action.
Our Services
- Assistance in reporting and reporting counterfeit products
- Requests for removal and re-listing of infringing sites
- Survey on the proliferation of counterfeit goods in e-commerce markets around the world
- Domestic e-commerce sales monitoring
- Countermeasures against fraudulent applications (preemptive applications) by others
- Responding to the seizure of intellectual property infringing goods at Japanese Customs
We provide comprehensive intellectual property protection, from online counterfeit product checks to border control support at customs.
If you are concerned about the possibility of design right infringement or are considering measures to combat counterfeit goods, please feel free to contact us.
We offer a free initial 30-minute consultation.
Our patent attorneys will carefully listen to your situation and propose the best possible solution.