2026 will be a significant year for retailers and e-commerce companies, with significant changes on the horizon that will affect the entire industry and ecosystem. In this alert, we highlight the top issues retailers and e-commerce companies should be aware of and ready to tackle in 2026. Click here to continue reading the full version
In the past several years, the market for counterfeit goods has grown rampantly. Estimates of the total value of counterfeit goods sold each year range from $1.7 trillion to $4.5 trillion. Makers of luxury goods are among the hardest-hit industries, as well as those dealing in footwear, apparel, fine art, and collectables. The rise of online shopping has further thwarted companies’ ability to protect their brands. Illegitimate sellers on e-commerce marketplaces employ techniques like posting fake positive reviews and using copyrighted branding to reach consumers and sell counterfeit goods. Continue Reading Anti-Counterfeit Measures Help Brands Protect Against the Trafficking of Fake Products
On October 13, President Biden issued a Fact Sheet entitled Biden Administration Efforts to Address Bottlenecks at Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Moving Goods from Ship to Shelf to help address the “delays and congestion” across the transportation supply chain. As has been widely reported in recent weeks and months, the global supply chain has been hard hit by large increases in e-commerce and delays and shutdowns implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19. The release confirms public and private commitments to move goods more quickly and to secure the resiliency of American and global supply chains. To do so, the Biden Administration is focusing on the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which act as the ports of entry to the United States for 40% of containers received. The President, together with leadership from these ports, are undertaking a series of public and private commitments as noted below.
Continue Reading Biden Administration Works with Industry Stakeholders to Address Supply Chain Delays at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach
On July 9, 2021, the European Commission published its long-awaited draft of the revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and Vertical Guidelines. The significant changes proposed by the Commission take into account the specific challenges brought about by the growth of e-commerce and online platforms in the “digital age.” The Commission has also taken this
On March 10, Crowell & Moring’s ITC Section 337 practice co-lead, Josh Pond, and counsel, Preetha Chakrabarti, will lead a discussion titled, “2021: Year of the Knockoff – Counterstrategies at the U.S. ITC & Beyond.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an exponential rise in e-commerce, as well as counterfeiting. With it harder
In the coming weeks or months, the European Commission is expected to table an ambitious set of draft legislation that, if adopted, will have a major impact on the business practices of digital service providers in the EU, including non-EU companies serving European users: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission’s legislative proposals aim to strengthen the responsibilities of online platforms and to support fair competition in digital markets.
The DSA’s main objective is to update the e-Commerce Directive. This is long overdue, as the legal framework for digital services has remained largely unchanged since the e-Commerce Directive was adopted in 2000. The update aims to clarify the liability regime for digital intermediaries active in the EU and to reinforce oversight and enforcement.
The DSA will require digital service providers to take more responsibility for dealing with harmful or illegal content and dangerous or counterfeit products. They will have to put in place clear and simple procedures to deal with notifications about harmful or illegal content or goods on their platforms. They will also have to verify the identity of traders before letting them on their platforms (“know your business customer”). At the same time, they will have to make available simple procedures for platform users to complain if they think the removal of their material was unwarranted.
Continue Reading New EU Proposals to Regulate Digital Markets – What to Expect
In the third of our series of blog posts on antitrust and e-commerce in Europe, we look at the €40 million fine imposed on clothing company Guess by the European Commission (EC) in December 2018.
The case is the first in which the EC finds that restrictions on the use of a brand name for