Counterfeits have moved online. Brand protection has to follow them.

The State of Counterfeiting in India 2025 report, published by ASPA with CRISIL Intelligence in March 2026, surveyed 1,639 consumers in nine cities. Thirty-five percent had come across a counterfeit in the previous twelve months, 89% had bought one at some point, and online platforms accounted for 53% of counterfeit purchases. A third of respondents had encountered a counterfeit healthcare product.

The pattern is regional. In the UAE, e-commerce reached AED42.2 billion in 2025, and growth like that attracts the same sellers.

Why takedowns alone do not work

A listing removed today reappears tomorrow under a new seller name. Takedowns treat the symptom. The source is a unit that manufactures, refills or packs the product, and the network of sellers it supplies. Finding it takes field work: test purchases, alias contacts, supply-chain tracing and, ultimately, a raid or a civil action.

A joined-up programme

• Monitor marketplaces, social commerce and domains continuously, scored by risk.
• Convert high-risk listings into test purchases and verify the product.
• Trace verified fakes to the source and build an evidential case.
• Enforce through raids, takedowns and legal action, and log every step.
• Re-sweep to confirm the market stays clean and catch re-entry.

IP Octopus gives legal, brand and leadership teams one record of rights, findings, cases and outcomes, so enforcement becomes a programme rather than a series of reactions.