IDS debates Mercado Livre’s Intellectual Property rights protection and anti-piracy programs

IDS debates Mercado Livre’s Intellectual Property rights protection and anti-piracy programs

Last Wednesday (30), the Dannemann Siemsen Institute (IDS) held another IDS Agenda, this time with the aim of debating two relevant initiatives in the field of protection of Intellectual Property (IP) rights and anti-piracy by Mercado Livre. Presented in English, the focus of the event was to present Mercado Livre’s “Brand Protection Program (BPP)” and “Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance (MACA)” initiatives, which aim to help IP rights owners protect their rights within the platform. The event was opened by IDS academic coordinator Patrícia Porto and moderated by Dannemann Siemsen partner Fernanda Salomão Mascarenhas. As guest speakers, IDS welcomed Guadalupe Garcia Crespo, Intellectual Property Manager at Mercado Livre, and Bárbara Castro, Senior Intellectual Property Analyst at Mercado Livre, both of whom provided information and perspectives on the BPP and MACA.

Moderator Fernanda Salomão introduced the event by commenting on the work of Mercado Livre, the largest technology and e-commerce company in Latin America, operating in 18 countries and with more than 100 million users. Fernanda explained that the online platform offers solutions for buying, selling, listing, sending and paying for goods and services, serving companies and individuals. Guadalupe Garcia then took the floor and explained a little more about the IP rights protection initiatives within Mercado Libre and its online trading platform. The speaker first commented on some of the company’s policies, such as the ban on the sale of certain products on the platform (e.g. firearms and wild animals), the ban on practices that could expose buyers to possible fraud (such as merely symbolic prices and misleading product descriptions) and the ban on listing offers that could infringe third-party IP rights.

Bárbara Castro then returned to clarify important points about Mercado Livre’s BPP. She explained that the program has an exclusive reporting channel for infringements of IP rights: trademarks; copyright and related rights; patents, utility models; cultivars; and industrial designs. The speaker then showed the step-by-step process of how to register with the program, drawing attention to some precautions, such as clearly proving the IP rights you intend to protect on the platform, through official documentation. Bárbara also clarified what happens after the complaint is made. In this case, Mercado Libre pauses the ad and gives the advertiser time to contest the complaint, which can lead to the ad being removed and sanctions being applied within the platform.

Still talking about the BPP, Guadalupe Garcia highlights other features of the program, such as the generation of personalized reports and the possibility of global monitoring of IP rights infringements. She also points out what actions can be taken if a complaint is rejected, such as reviewing and renewing supporting documentation for the company to re-examine. Here, the speakers also draw attention to the risk of reporting expired IP rights or reporting a type of IP right that does not precisely correspond to the reported infringement. Another interesting point addressed was the measures to prevent IP rights violations within the platform. Thus, “Know your costumer” was developed to identify possibly infringing profiles and products by verifying and managing identity information and financial transactions.

Finally, the speakers presented MACA, an initiative created by Mercado Libre in conjunction with 26 global brands to combat virtual piracy and smuggling. The program works both on product removals using algorithms and technologies for detecting brands and logos, and on conducting internal investigations with rights holders with a view to: locating infringers; deciding on legal strategies; and designating the competent authorities to deal with the case.

The recordings will be made available on the IDS website.

Note: For quick release, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.