“Facebook, Inc. and Gucci America, Inc. sued an individual in the United States District Court, Northern District of California for breach of Facebook and Instagram’s Terms and infringement of Gucci’s intellectual property rights. Specifically, the defendant used multiple Facebook and Instagram accounts to evade Facebook’s enforcement efforts and continue to promote the sale of counterfeit Gucci products.” 

“Consistent with these terms, Facebook and Instagram have implemented robust IP protection measures including a global notice-and-takedown program, a robust repeat infringement policy and additional measures.” – Meta, April 26 2021

This is the first time Facebook had partnered on litigation. With the latest data released by Meta, the number of Facebook users worldwide hit a record-high of 2.94 billion in the first quarter of this year. As Facebook expands its eCommerce options, 250 million people are now using its shopping tools every month. Given this, it makes sense for Facebook to enhance more protection for IP owners and invest in safer technology platforms to enforce measures and reporting tools.

Brand Rights Protection

In the efforts to tackle in-app abuse and crime, Facebook recently launched new enhancements to its brand safety tools – Brand Rights Protection, formerly known as the Commerce and Ads IP tool which allows brands to upload 10 images of their product to see if it matches any suspiciously similar product that may lead to the  IP infringement. And when they detect unpermitted matches on Instagram, Facebook will begin to analyze its leading social networking site. It provides an interface for brands to identify and report trademark violations such as unauthorized use of a logo, counterfeit products, and copyright infringement in ads, Marketplace, Shops, Instagram accounts, and certain types of posts and groups. 

Reporting Tools

And when you find out someone is suspiciously infringing your IP, what can you do? Here in Facebook and Instagram, brands or IP owner can find the access provided to report the content that promotes counterfeit products.

Facebook Monetization Rules

To this end, Facebook’s efforts have not only restored the trust in its merchants’ platforms but also allowed IP owners to enjoy their exclusive rights. Thanks to the existence of IP-infringement tools. With the new updates to its Brand Safety and Intellectual Property tools, now people can start to monetize their Copyrighted content on Facebook every time the content is shared by other Pages.

“Copyright owners can opt to claim and collect ad earnings on copyrighted content that is published by pages that meet our Community Standards and our partner monetization policies, and their content meets our content monetization policies.” – Facebook announcement March 23, 2021.

This article brought to you by Exy Intellectual Property