--- title: "Online Brand Protection: How Brand Monitoring Works | Pitch" description: "How infringements of a trademark are found online, which rules decide whether they are unlawful, and which routes exist to stop them." url: https://www.pitch.law/academy/online-brand-protection-how-brand-monitoring-works --- [pitch](https://www.pitch.law/) [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy) [Intellectual property](https://www.pitch.law/academy/topics/intellectual-property) # Online Brand Protection: How Brand Monitoring Works How infringements of a trademark are found online, which rules decide whether they are unlawful, and which routes exist to stop them. - By By Bart Lieben, Attorney-at-Law - Published 25 February 2026 ## The legal framework You cannot act against an infringement you do not know about. Brand monitoring is the practice of looking for it continuously, and the law then decides what you can do with what you find. ### What a trademark owner can prohibit For an EU trade mark, Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (the EUTMR) gives the proprietor the right to prevent third parties from using, in the course of trade, a sign in three situations: the sign is identical to the mark for identical goods or services; the sign is identical or similar and there is a likelihood of confusion; or the mark has a reputation in the EU and the use takes unfair advantage of it or harms it. Article 9(3) lists acts that count as use, among them offering or selling goods under the sign, importing or exporting them, using the sign as a trade or company name, and using it in advertising and on business papers. The Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BCIP) gives Benelux marks comparable rights, in Article 2.20. These rules apply online as offline. A listing on a marketplace, a social media profile and a website can all be use of a sign in the course of trade. ### Limits The right is not unlimited. Under Article 15 EUTMR, the rights are exhausted when goods were put on the market in the EEA by the owner or with consent, so a reseller of genuine goods can in principle sell them on, unless there are legitimate reasons to oppose, such as a changed or impaired condition. Descriptive and nominative use, for example to indicate that you sell compatible spare parts, can also be allowed if it follows honest practices. A monitoring system therefore finds candidates, and a lawyer decides which are infringements. ### Platform and intermediary rules Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (the Digital Services Act) shapes how platforms respond. Hosting services are not liable for illegal content they do not know about, but lose that protection if they fail to act once informed (Article 6). Article 16 requires hosting services to have a notice-and-action mechanism, and Article 22 gives notices from trusted flaggers priority. Online marketplaces must also trace their traders (Article 30), which can help identify a seller. Platforms may nonetheless ask for registered rights and evidence, which is why a complete notice matters. ### Routes to stop an infringement - A notice to the platform, host or registrar. - A cease-and-desist letter to the seller or domain holder. - For domain names, the UDRP, the URS and the .be and .eu procedures, described in the article on [domain name disputes](https://www.pitch.law/academy/udrp-and-domain-name-disputes). - Court action. National courts can order infringements to stop, often through fast interim procedures. The right of information in Article 8 of Directive 2004/48/EC helps identify infringers. - For counterfeit goods, an application for action by customs under Regulation (EU) 608/2013. ## In practice ### Where infringement shows up Monitoring covers four fronts: new trademark filings on the registers, product listings on marketplaces, impersonation and misuse on social media, and lookalike domain names. [Our online brand monitoring](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/domain-monitoring-enforcement) discovers lookalike domains from several independent sources, among them zone files, certificate logs and newly registered domain feeds, and follows the large marketplaces and social platforms. Detections are grouped in five channels: marketplaces, social media, websites, domain names and app stores. ### From signal to priority Each detection is weighed on several factors: how closely names and images match, whether the seller is an authorised partner, and whether the pricing is suspicious. Known partners are recognised so that attention goes to genuine threats. An attorney then reviews the detections that warrant action and decides with the brand owner. ### An example A Ghent company makes outdoor equipment under a registered EU trade mark. Monitoring flags a domain name that adds a hyphen and the word "outlet" to its brand, a marketplace listing with the logo at half the usual price, and a social media account using its product photographs. The attorney finds that the listing is placed by an authorised Spanish distributor that sells genuine goods and the price reflects a promotion. That is not an infringement, but it is a point to raise under the distribution agreement. The account is an unauthorised seller of counterfeit goods, and a notice with an evidence pack leads to its removal. The domain name points to a clone of the company's webshop. A notice to the host removes the site fast, and a complaint under the UDRP then recovers the domain name so that it cannot reappear. ### Authorised partners Many deviations come from partners. A distributor that sells outside the agreed channels, or uses an old logo, calls for a contractual response and not a takedown. [Our rights and obligations register](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations) follows the duties that the agreement imposes, and the article on [distribution and reseller agreements](https://www.pitch.law/academy/distribution-reseller-agreements) explains these clauses. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need a registered trademark to act? Usually yes. Most platforms ask for registration details, and the EUTMR and BCIP protect registered marks. Unregistered rights can sometimes be relied on, for example in a UDRP complaint, but the proof is harder. ### How fast can content be taken down? It depends on the platform and the quality of the notice. A complete notice with clear evidence is dealt with faster, and platforms are required to act once they have knowledge of illegal content. We cannot promise a time. ### Is selling genuine goods without permission an infringement? Not if the goods were put on the market in the EEA by the owner or with consent, as the rights are then exhausted. Exceptions apply, for instance where the goods have been altered or repackaged in a way that harms the mark. ### Can I find out who is behind a listing? Often. Marketplaces must trace traders under the DSA, registrars may disclose data under their procedures, and a court can order disclosure under Article 8 of Directive 2004/48/EC. ## How this connects Monitoring and enforcement are available as [brand monitoring and online enforcement](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/effective-online-brand-protection). Where the infringers are partners, see [brand policy compliance](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/online-brand-compliance), and for contested domain names [domain name disputes](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/domain-name-litigation). The notice workflow is described in [takedowns and enforcement notices](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-takedowns). ## In short - What a trademark owner can prohibit online - Limits such as exhaustion and descriptive use - Platform duties under the Digital Services Act - Routes from notice to court ## Related solutions - [Solutions](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/effective-online-brand-protection) ### [Brand Monitoring & Online Enforcement](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/effective-online-brand-protection) [We find counterfeit listings, impersonation and lookalike domains across marketplaces, social media and the web, and act on them through the right route.](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/effective-online-brand-protection) - [Solutions](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/online-brand-compliance) ### [Brand Policy Compliance](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/online-brand-compliance) [We help brand owners get distributors, resellers and licensees to follow the brand rules, through the contract, monitoring and a graduated response.](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/online-brand-compliance) - [Solutions](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/domain-name-litigation) ### [Domain Name Disputes](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/domain-name-litigation) [We recover or cancel domain names registered in bad faith, through the UDRP, the URS, the .eu procedure, country-code procedures such as .be, or the courts, and defend clients accused of the same.](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/domain-name-litigation) ## Technology we use - [Technology](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/domain-monitoring-enforcement) ### [Online Brand Monitoring](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/domain-monitoring-enforcement) [Continuous discovery of lookalike domain names, counterfeit listings and impersonating accounts, with detections shown in the client portal for attorney review.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/domain-monitoring-enforcement) - [Technology](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-takedowns) ### [Takedowns and Enforcement Notices](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-takedowns) [A notice workflow for marketplaces, registrars, hosts and platforms, with a timestamped evidence pack for each action and enforcement documents drafted in four languages.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-takedowns) - [Technology](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations) ### [Contract Management: Rights and Obligations](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations) [Once a contract is final, we pull out each party's duties and rights with the clause they come from, have a person confirm them, and follow them with reminders.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/contract-obligations) ## More in Intellectual property - ### [EUIPO Fast Track](https://www.pitch.law/academy/euipo-fast-track-filing) [Fast Track speeds up examination of EU trade mark applications that use pre-approved wording. This article explains what it is, what it does not change and when it makes sense.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/euipo-fast-track-filing) - ### [Finding the IP You Already Have](https://www.pitch.law/academy/hidden-intellectual-property-audit) [Most companies own more intellectual property than they have registered. This article explains which rights arise without registration, how an IP audit finds them, and why ownership matters.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/hidden-intellectual-property-audit) - ### [How to Value an IP Portfolio](https://www.pitch.law/academy/how-to-value-ip-portfolio) [Why and when an IP portfolio is valued, the three standard valuation approaches, and the legal facts that decide whether a right is worth what its owner thinks.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/how-to-value-ip-portfolio) - ### [IP Cost Planning for Multi-Jurisdiction Filings](https://www.pitch.law/academy/ip-cost-planning-budgeting-for-multi-jurisdiction-filings) [What a trademark portfolio costs depends on routes, classes and countries as much as on the number of marks. This article sets out the cost elements and how to plan them over the life of a mark.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/ip-cost-planning-budgeting-for-multi-jurisdiction-filings) - ### [IP Lifecycle Management](https://www.pitch.law/academy/ip-lifecycle-management) [Every intellectual property right has a life: it is created, protected, maintained, used and eventually ends. This article describes those stages, their legal terms and the decisions each one calls for.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/ip-lifecycle-management) - ### [Managing Your IP Deadlines](https://www.pitch.law/academy/managing-your-ip-deadlines) [Which time limits matter in trademark, design and patent matters, which of them can be extended, what happens when one is missed, and how a reliable deadline process is built.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/managing-your-ip-deadlines) ## Let’s talk Tell us what you’re working on. We’ll get the right person on it and reply within one business day. The first chat is free. 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