Protect Your Brand. Identify Infringement. Develop the Evidence.
Counterfeit products, unauthorised use of intellectual property and diverted supply chains can create significant financial, reputational and commercial risk.
Conflict International provides intellectual property and counterfeiting investigation services to brands, businesses, rights holders and legal advisers in the UK and internationally.
Our work can help clients identify suspected infringement, establish how products are being marketed or distributed, examine the people and companies involved and develop factual evidence for legal or commercial review.
Depending on the matter, support may include online research, test purchases, physical-market enquiries, corporate intelligence, supply-chain mapping, surveillance and digital evidence work.
The objective is not simply to identify an infringing listing or suspicious product.
It is to understand who may be involved, how the activity operates and what reliable evidence can be developed to support the client's next decision.
Counterfeit products can appear across online marketplaces, social-media platforms, physical retail locations, wholesale networks and international distribution channels.
Where a business suspects that its trademarks, brand identity or products are being misused, Conflict International can conduct targeted enquiries to help establish:
A single counterfeit listing may be relatively straightforward.
A wider distribution network involving multiple businesses, jurisdictions or online identities can require deeper corporate and supply-chain research.
Test purchases can be a useful way of obtaining a product and documenting how it was represented, sold and supplied.
Depending on the circumstances, a test purchase may help establish:
The resulting product and transaction records can then be reviewed by the client and their legal advisers.
A test purchase does not itself determine whether a legal infringement has occurred.
That assessment depends on the relevant intellectual property rights, the circumstances of the sale and legal advice.
Intellectual property infringement increasingly takes place online.
Suspected counterfeit goods may be promoted through:
Research can help document relevant listings, seller identities, domains, contact details and connections between apparently separate online operations.
Where technically appropriate, our Forensic and Digital Investigation Services can provide additional support where a matter involves digital evidence, devices, account material or other electronically stored information.
Online evidence can change quickly.
Listings disappear, accounts are renamed and websites can be moved or removed.
Early documentation can therefore be important where a client anticipates potential legal or enforcement action.
Identifying a counterfeit product does not necessarily reveal where it originated.
The seller visible to the consumer may only represent one point within a larger distribution structure.
Conflict International can assist clients seeking to understand:
Corporate intelligence can be particularly useful where several apparently separate businesses appear to have common directors, addresses, shareholders or other links.
Understanding those connections can help a rights holder distinguish an isolated seller from a wider commercial network.
Not all counterfeit activity occurs online.
Physical-market research may be appropriate where suspected infringing products are believed to be offered through retail premises, markets, warehouses or other identifiable locations.
Depending on the objective, Conflict International may assist with:
Where lawful observation of people, vehicles or locations is relevant to the agreed objective, our Surveillance Services may provide additional factual information.
Surveillance should only be used where it is proportionate and relevant to the specific question being examined.
Copyright concerns may involve unauthorised use or distribution of:
Conflict International can assist with factual research around the parties, companies, websites and distribution channels associated with suspected infringement.
Our role is not to determine whether copyright infringement has legally occurred.
That is a matter for appropriately qualified intellectual property advisers.
We develop factual information that can help those advisers understand how the relevant content appears to be used and who may be responsible for the associated business activity.
Some intellectual property disputes involve concerns about confidential information rather than counterfeit goods.
For example, a business may suspect that a former employee, contractor or commercial partner has retained or misused sensitive information.
Where appropriate, support may involve:
Where suspected conduct forms part of a wider internal fraud or employee-misconduct matter, our Fraud and Financial Investigation Services may provide a more appropriate framework.
Counterfeiting and intellectual property disputes often involve companies whose relationships are not immediately obvious.
Corporate intelligence can help examine:
This can help rights holders and legal advisers understand whether apparently separate sellers, suppliers or distributors may be connected.
The purpose is to identify relevant relationships, not to assume wrongdoing because two businesses share a director, address or commercial connection.
Counterfeit supply chains can cross several jurisdictions.
A product may be manufactured in one country, exported through another, stored elsewhere and eventually sold to consumers in the UK.
Online sellers can create the same challenge, with websites, companies, payment providers and fulfilment operations located in different countries.
Conflict International can coordinate enquiries across relevant jurisdictions through its international capability, subject to local legal and information-access restrictions.
Cross-border support may involve:
Information availability varies between countries, and we make clear where ownership, identity or other material cannot be independently established.
Conflict International works alongside legal advisers where intellectual property disputes require independent factual enquiries.
Depending on the matter, our work may assist with:
Where a dispute develops into formal proceedings, our Litigation Support Services can provide broader assistance around evidence development, corporate intelligence and cross-border enquiries.
Conflict International does not determine whether evidence is admissible, whether an injunction should be sought or whether criminal enforcement action should take place.
Those decisions rest with the client's legal advisers, courts and relevant authorities.
We establish what the client believes is happening and what information is needed.
This may involve websites, marketplace accounts, companies, physical premises, suppliers or other relevant parties.
The agreed methods may include corporate research, online research, test purchases, physical enquiries or other proportionate measures.
Where possible, information is cross-checked to distinguish verified facts from potential links requiring further examination.
Reporting can include:
Conflict International supports brands, businesses and legal teams dealing with intellectual property concerns in the UK and internationally.
Depending on the circumstances, an assignment can draw on:
This allows the response to be built around the actual problem rather than assuming that every IP matter requires the same methodology.
Our focus is on developing clear, relevant intelligence that clients and their legal advisers can assess when considering the next appropriate step.
Counterfeit goods and intellectual property misuse can be difficult to address when the businesses, sellers or supply chains involved remain unclear.
Early enquiries can help establish how suspected infringement is taking place, identify relevant commercial relationships and preserve information before online listings or physical supply arrangements change.
If your organisation is dealing with suspected counterfeiting, trademark misuse, copyright infringement or other intellectual property concerns, contact Conflict International to discuss an appropriate scope of work.
Contact Conflict International in confidence to discuss your requirements and how we may be able to assist.
