Lazada, IPOPHL partner to boost intellectual property rights protection

Online shopping platform Lazada Philippines has partnered with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to uphold  intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in the e-commerce space.

Lazada is a signatory to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IPOPHL, signed in 2021, to address online counterfeiting and piracy. The MOU facilitates a streamlined process to take down or request the take down of IP infringing posts. 

As part of its commitment under the MOU, Lazada conducted an informative session in collaboration with the IPOPHL.

In a statement, Lazada said the session brought together fellow signatories of the MOU consisting of brand owners cooperating to address counterfeiting and piracy online. 

During the session, Gordon Song, Lazada's executive vice president for Business Risk, discussed the importance of educating sellers and customers about trademark violations and copyright infringements, and collaborating with stakeholders to establish a robust IPR protection policy. 

“At Lazada, we aim to enlighten and help rights holders and brands—whether or not they are partnered with us—in upholding their IP rights as this is crucial in protecting their business. We firmly stand by IPR protection as a core value of Lazada," said Song.

"Intellectual property is an asset to its owners. If you create intellectual property, it belongs to you—you've invested time, effort, and money into it, and thus we are driven to protect those rights. That's our fundamental belief as an online marketplace," added Song.

The IPOPHL, for its part, lauded Lazada's online-to-offline enforcement options.

“Lazada’s initiative is a laudable step as it not only fulfills the aim of the e-commerce MOU in protecting the IP rights of brand owners, but also ensures a safe digital space for consumers. Taking the first step in addressing counterfeit and copyright infringing items online will provide our people better options of original and higher quality products,” said IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba.  

This year, Lazada said it is ramping up its proactive enforcement against counterfeits, aiming for less than 90% of takedowns to be done proactively. 

This involves streamlining the takedown process to reduce the number of requests, according to the online platform.

“Lazada’s IPR program ultimately helps cultivate trust in our buyer community and strengthens trust in this online marketplace," said Song.—LDF, GMA Integrated News