Checklist: Is your brand ready to sell on marketplaces?

Selling on marketplaces opens up new opportunities, but it also brings increased risks. The more successful a brand is, the higher the likelihood of encountering trademark infringement, counterfeiting, price dumping, and other forms of unfair competition.

Many companies only consider intellectual property protection after the first violations occur. It is much more effective to assess risks in advance, before a large-scale launch on these platforms. This checklist will help you understand how ready your brand is for this.

1. Trademark registered

Start with the essentials: verify that brand rights are formalized. Without registration, protection options are severely limited. If counterfeits appear or someone starts illegally using the name, logo, or other identifiers, proving your rights will be significantly more difficult. If a company has multiple brands, such as for different product lines, ensure that protection extends to all key designations.

2. You control official sellers

Customers need to know where they can purchase authentic products. If a brand operates through dealers, distributors, or other partners, regularly update the list of authorized sellers and monitor who is using the trademark on marketplaces. This makes it easier to quickly identify unauthorized sales and reduces the risk of counterfeit products appearing.

3. Product cards are formatted correctly

A product listing is one of a brand's key assets on a marketplace. Ensure it features high-quality photos, an up-to-date description, branded design, and accurate product information. The better the official listing is presented, the easier it is for the customer to distinguish the original from a counterfeit.

4. You know who sells products under your brand.

Even if the company itself does not list products on marketplaces, check search results periodically. Pay attention to sellers who use your trademark but offer goods at suspiciously low prices or publish product listings with photos and descriptions similar to the originals. Such checks help detect violations at an early stage.

5. A procedure for actions upon detection of violations has been prepared.

Counterfeit products appear even for the most famous brands, so determine in advance:

1. who is responsible for identifying violations;

2. who decides whether to file a complaint;

3. how evidence is recorded;

4. who monitors the results of the claim reviews.

Without such a process, the response time to violations increases significantly, and speed is essential for removing counterfeits from marketplaces.

6. Regular monitoring has been organized

A one-time check is not enough for effective brand protection. New sellers and product listings appear on marketplaces every day, so control must be constant. If monitoring begins only after customer complaints or partner inquiries, there is a high risk of discovering the problem too late.

Practice shows how large-scale violations can be. During monitoring of the Dreame brand on Ozon, Wildberries, and Yandex Market in March, May, and June 2026, 3,529 listings from 712 sellers were identified. After verification, complaints were filed against 302 sellers regarding 2,371 listings; the remaining cases were filtered out.

Another example is the Darwin brand. In July 2026, 2,547 listings from 96 sellers were identified on Wildberries, Yandex Market, and Ozon. In August, there were only 147 new listings and 13 sellers: after the first wave of complaints, the flow of new violations decreased by approximately 17 times.

These examples show that monitoring allows not only for finding individual cases of illegal brand use but also for tracking the dynamics of violations, evaluating the results of measures taken, and responding to new threats in a timely manner.

7. The company is prepared to address repeated violations.

Deleting a listing does not always solve the problem. Unscrupulous sellers may post the same product under a new account, change the description, or use a different image. Therefore, it is important not only to react to individual cases but also to monitor for repeated violations.

Furthermore, the result of handling complaints is not always the deletion of the listing. A seller might change the description, remove an illegally used trademark, or the listing might be excluded from search results.

For example, regarding complaints on Wildberries concerning the Darwin brand, the rights holder's rights were successfully protected for 2,452 out of 2,587 listings (94.8%). Of these, 1,418 listings were removed from the platform, and for 1,034, sellers removed the brand or changed the product presentation. On 135 listings, the brand continued to be used.

Therefore, when assessing the effectiveness of protection, one must consider not only the number of deleted listings but also all cases of actual violation remediation. At the same time, it is necessary to continue monitoring listings where the problem persists and track re-postings.

8. There are tools for analyzing the situation

Effective brand protection is impossible without understanding the big picture. It is important for a company to know how many violations are detected and on which platforms they are most prevalent, whether sellers return, how quickly complaints are processed, and how seller behavior changes after notices. This data helps evaluate results and adjust the protection strategy in a timely manner.

For example, when handling complaints for the Dreame brand, results varied significantly depending on the platform and the group of sellers. On Ozon, 404 out of 423 listings (95.5%) were removed in one group of sellers, while 684 out of 1,070 (64%) were removed in another. On Wildberries, 192 listings were removed, and another 50 were taken out of search results. On Yandex Market, 506 out of 600 listings (84%) were removed.

Overall, based on the results of complaint processing, violations were resolved in approximately 78–80% of cases. Comparing platforms shows where protection works more effectively and where more work is needed on complaints and repeat violations.

9. Modern protection tools are used

Automated platforms allow for regular monitoring of marketplaces, identification of potential violations, handling of complaints, and tracking of results in a single interface. ZIPDetect helps rightsholders consolidate digital platform monitoring, violation documentation, complaint processing, and legal support into a single workflow. This enables a systematic approach to managing a large number of product listings and sellers, rather than being limited to one-off checks.

Let's sum up

If you answered "yes" to most of the items, the brand is well-prepared for working on marketplaces and will be able to react to violations faster. If some of the questions caused difficulties, this is a reason to review your processes before problems start affecting sales and reputation.

Entering marketplaces is not only about new sales channels but also about new tasks regarding intellectual property protection. The earlier a company builds a system for controlling brand usage, the easier it is to prevent counterfeiting, protect business interests, and maintain customer trust.

Regular monitoring, clear internal processes, results analysis, and modern protection tools turn the fight against violations from an emergency response into a manageable, systematic process.

If, however, some of the questions caused difficulties, this is a reason to review existing processes before problems start affecting sales and reputation.

Entering marketplaces is not only about new sales channels but also about new tasks regarding intellectual property protection. The earlier a company builds a system for monitoring the use of its brand, the easier it will be to prevent the appearance of counterfeits, protect business interests, and maintain customer trust.

Regular monitoring, clear internal processes, results analysis, and modern protection tools allow for turning the work with violations from an emergency response into a manageable and systematic process.