The internet has transformed how businesses build brands, reach customers, and conduct commerce. It has also created unprecedented opportunities for infringement, counterfeiting, and brand abuse. Unauthorized sellers on e-commerce platforms, cybersquatters targeting domain names, social media impersonators, keyword hijackers, and copyright infringers can damage your brand reputation and erode customer trust in a matter of hours.
Ward and Smith’s Online Disputes & Brand Enforcement attorneys help brand owners protect their intellectual property in the fast-moving digital environment. We combine sophisticated knowledge of intellectual property laws with practical enforcement strategies to stop online infringement quickly and effectively. We also help businesses respond to allegations of infringement and fraudulent efforts to interfere with their businesses online.
Drawing on our nationally recognized intellectual property practice, our team handles the full spectrum of digital enforcement matters—from cease-and-desist demands and platform takedown procedures to federal court litigation and UDRP domain name proceedings.
Our Experience
Ward and Smith represents brand owners across industries in online disputes and digital brand enforcement matters, including:
Proactive Brand Protection
Prevention is as important as enforcement. We help clients develop proactive strategies to minimize online infringement risks through trademark portfolio audits and strategic registration programs, domain name defensive registration strategies, coordination with brand protection monitoring and watching services, platform enrollment in brand registry and protection programs, employee training on social media and digital asset ownership, and preparation of terms of use and privacy policies.
Domain Name Disputes & Cybersquatting
We represent clients in Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings and litigate cybersquatting claims under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Our attorneys recover domain names through negotiation, settlement, and administrative proceedings, while also defending clients in domain name ownership disputes. We advise on domain name portfolio management and defensive registration strategies to protect brand assets across multiple top-level domains.
E-Commerce Platform Enforcement
Our team works to remove counterfeit products and unauthorized sellers from online marketplaces, enforcing trademark and copyright rights on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other platforms. We navigate platform-specific brand protection programs and enforcement procedures, coordinate multi-platform enforcement campaigns, and address seller impersonation and unauthorized use of brand assets.
Social Media Enforcement
We help publishers, marketers, and creators with:
Pursuing takedowns of infringing content on social media platforms
Addressing unauthorized use of trademarks and copyrighted materials online
Handling influencer contract disputes and unauthorized endorsements
Enforcing social media account ownership and access rights
Copyright Enforcement
We advise on Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices as a means to enforce copyrights online. We also litigate copyright infringement claims in federal court and defend clients against improper DMCA takedown notices and counter-notifications.
Online Advertising Disputes
When competitors misuse trademarks in misleading keyword advertising or engage in unfair competitive practices online, we address these issues through direct communications with infringers, complaints filed with search engine providers, and litigation when necessary. We counsel clients on competitive advertising practices and proper use of competitor trademarks in the online environment.
Litigation
When informal enforcement efforts fail, our experienced intellectual property litigators are prepared to take cases to federal court. We handle trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair competition, advertising, and trade secret misappropriation disputes in federal and state courts, as well as proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the National Advertising Division (administered by the Better Business Bureaus National Programs, Inc.), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and other administrative agencies.
Rapid Response & Strategic Enforcement
Online infringement, unfair competition, or trade secret misappropriation demands immediate action. Our attorneys provide rapid-response counsel to assess threats, develop enforcement strategies, and execute takedown procedures efficiently. We understand that every day a wrongdoer operates online can result in lost sales, diluted brand equity, and consumer confusion.
Our enforcement strategies are tailored to each client’s business objectives and may include direct cease-and-desist communications, platform-based reporting and takedown procedures, UDRP and alternative dispute resolution proceedings, federal court litigation when necessary, coordination with law enforcement for criminal counterfeiting, and ongoing monitoring and brand protection programs.
A Multidisciplinary Approach
Online enforcement intersects with trademark prosecution, copyright law, privacy and data security, business litigation, and employment law. Ward and Smith’s integrated practice groups allow us to assemble teams with the precise experience each situation demands. Our Board Certified Specialists in Trademark Law, Certified Information Privacy Professionals, and seasoned litigators provide comprehensive counsel for complex digital enforcement challenges.
National Recognition
Our intellectual property attorneys have earned recognition in the World Trademark Review 1000, Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars, and Best Lawyers in America. This national recognition reflects our commitment to excellence in protecting clients’ brands in the digital marketplace.
Contact Us
Whether you need to stop a cybersquatter, remove counterfeit products from an online marketplace, or litigate a complex digital enforcement matter, Ward and Smith’s team is ready to help. Contact our Online Disputes and Brand Enforcement attorneys to discuss how we can protect your brand online.
