2.4 MILLION PRODUCT CARDS WERE BLOCKED ON MARKETPLACES DUE TO COMPLAINTS FROM RIGHT HOLDERS

It was a result of implementation good practices adopted in July 2023 for interaction of marketplaces with right holders and sellers in the framework of preventing the sale of counterfeit products

The Yandex Market Robotics Center in Moscow hosted a meeting of e-commerce market participants, representatives of the Association of Corporate Lawyers and FAS Russia, dedicated to summarizing the implementation of good practices, as well as their further development.

Maxim Shaskolsky, Head of the FAS Russia, noted a significant increase in sales on marketplaces, one of the reasons for which was legalization of parallel imports. According to the Head of the Authority, this mechanism should be used in good faith in order to protect the rights of right holders and sellers, as well as buyers. The Head of the Service also noted that FAS Russia continues to study practices of marketplaces in relation to other participants of the e-commerce market.

Good practices are an important step on course of development e-commerce and self-regulation. Representatives of the leading marketplaces that supported adoption of practices spoke about active work with right holders and sellers. Digital platforms reduce communication time between right holders and sellers on issues related to the fight against non-original goods. It allows to speed up the process of removing counterfeit goods from the sites and protect conscientious entrepreneurs from loss of income.

Representatives of companies-right holders, in turn, said that functioning in the framework of self-regulation and further development of good practices will allow to achieve necessary results in fighting against counterfeiting, the more participants apply these mechanisms and the less counterfeit products will reach the end consumer.

Alexandra Nesterenko, President of the Association of Corporate Lawyers, said that the Association, jointly with marketplaces and right holders, is preparing a "‎White Book" - the successful examples of combating counterfeiting. It will allow to use real-world precedents to show how sellers and buyers can effectively interact with the marketplace and achieve a positive result. The Association is currently collecting and analyzing relevant examples.

At the end of the meeting, the parties noted that good practices are an important step for suppressing violations of intellectual property rights, and their implementation will lead to a positive attitude to the industry as a whole.