Step one is not the seller: confirm what rights you actually hold
Almost every enforcement route assumes you are the registered owner in the Philippines. Trademark rights are territorial, so a registration in China or anywhere else does not protect you here. On the day you find the fakes, quietly check the status of your brand with the Philippine intellectual property office: is it registered, in whose name, for which classes of goods, is it within its term, and were the required declarations of use filed on time.
That check tends to surface one of three uncomfortable facts. The mark was never filed locally. It was filed, but in the name of a former distributor, agent or employee. Or it was filed but does not cover the category now being copied, or has lapsed because a use declaration was missed. Each calls for a different response. With no registration you file immediately and ask counsel whether copyright in your packaging and product photos, or an unfair competition theory, can support action in the meantime. If the registration sits in someone else's name you must resolve ownership first, because that person could turn around and accuse you. If it lapsed, find out whether it can be revived or must be refiled. The filing sequence is in the six-step Philippine trademark process and the term and use rules are in trademark validity and renewal.
Also confirm that the goods are fake at all. Diverted distributor stock, parallel imports of genuine goods and discounted end-of-season lots can look like infringement but are treated differently in law. Put a genuine unit next to a suspect one, compare packaging, batch codes and security features, and write an internal identification note. Every channel described below will ask for it.
Evidence: lock down four things before the seller knows you noticed
Evidence is only as good as the seller's inability to destroy it. That is why evidence comes before any warning, complaint or public statement. Secure four categories. First, proof of sale: full screenshots or screen recordings of the store page, the listing, the price, sales counts, reviews and the store's stated business identity, each showing the URL and the time. Second, physical samples: have someone with no obvious link to the brand place an order, keep the order confirmation, payment record and shipping label, and film the unboxing from sealed parcel to product. Third, seller identity: anything that ties the listing to a real person or company, such as the dispatch address, the name on the receiving account, or the name printed on a receipt or invoice. Fourth, scale: signs that the seller runs several stores, a stall, a warehouse or a wholesale channel.
For physical stalls the method is the same: buy normally, ask for a receipt, and note the location, signage and trading pattern. Do not argue with staff, do not pose as an officer, and do not film people aggressively or enter private areas. If you need a purchase with stronger evidentiary weight, your lawyer can arrange a witnessed test purchase with a written record.
Keep two backups and never edit originals. Prepare a one-page comparison of genuine versus fake with clear photographs. That document serves the marketplace, the regulator, customs and any later negotiation or lawsuit. If the counterfeiter is also posting false statements about you, capture those too, but treat them as a separate problem covered in defamation and cyber libel in the Philippines.
Fakes on marketplaces and social media: use the IP complaint channel
For online fakes the fastest way to stop the bleeding is usually the platform's own intellectual property complaint process. The major marketplaces and social platforms run rights-holder portals that ask for three things: proof of the right, the infringing links, and proof of your relationship to the right. Proof of the right is normally a valid Philippine registration. If you are an authorised distributor rather than the owner, you also need a written authorisation from the owner.
Several habits improve results. File one ground per link and say clearly whether it is a counterfeit mark, stolen images or misuse of the brand name to attract traffic, because platforms route these to different reviewers. Attach your genuine-versus-fake comparison and the purchase record; a bare statement that the item is fake is weaker. Expect the seller to respond, and be ready with additional material if a listing is restored instead of resubmitting the same claim. And remember that removal is first aid: the seller can reopen under a new name, so record the store identity each time for later use.
Know the limits. A takedown produces no compensation, seizes no inventory and does nothing about offline supply. If the same people keep reappearing, volumes are significant or the fakes are unsafe, you should not stop at the platform. Do not vent by leaving hostile reviews or accusing the seller in the comments; that can breach platform rules and hands the seller a counter-argument. If consumers who bought fakes are now complaining to you, see how to handle product complaints and recalls.
Offline and at source: administrative complaint, customs, criminal action
Each route solves a different problem. An administrative complaint is about making the infringer stop and answer for it. Customs recordation is about keeping the goods out. Criminal enforcement is for organised, large-scale counterfeiting. The administrative route means filing an infringement complaint with the intellectual property office, which hears it under its own procedure and can order the infringement to cease along with other relief. It is structured, but it takes time and requires complete proof of right and of infringement.
The customs route is often overlooked. Where fakes are imported, a rights holder can record its registered right with the customs authority so that officers watch for suspect shipments. If one is flagged, customs notifies the rights holder, who must respond within the period given and follow the next steps. A valid local registration is again the entry ticket, and you must be able to reply quickly and help identify the goods. For counterfeits that are mainly imported, this is frequently more efficient than chasing stalls one at a time.
Criminal enforcement suits organised operations and is normally carried out by law enforcement acting on a search warrant. Whether it can be started depends on the strength of the evidence and the size of the operation, and it needs a lawyer to assess and coordinate. Whatever you choose, never organise your own raid, seizure or blockade, which turns the victim into an offender. As a working rule: platforms first for online sales, customs first for imports, and administrative or criminal action when there is a fixed physical operation and solid evidence. Most cases combine them. The right combination is a judgment for counsel on the facts.
Demand letters and negotiation: decide what you want before you write
A demand letter works, but badly timed it helps the other side. Sent before evidence is secured, it is a warning to clear stock. Sent to a street vendor or a disposable online store, it is usually ignored. Sent to a seller with a fixed place of business and a reputation to protect, or to a former distributor who is running down leftover stock, it is often enough to stop the sales and open a conversation. How these letters work is explained in demand letters in the Philippines.
Before talking, decide the objective. Do you only want sales to stop and stock destroyed, do you want compensation, or do you want the name of the upstream supplier? Each goal changes your leverage and the wording of the document. Any agreement must be written and signed, stating what stops, how remaining stock is handled, an undertaking not to infringe again and what follows a breach. A verbal promise or a chat message saying the seller will stop is of little use when the fakes reappear.
Watch for one scenario in particular: the seller claims to be the true owner, or produces a registration that predates yours. This happens where a brand was registered first by an agent or a third party. Stop pressing and go back to step one to verify ownership. If you have instead received a warning from them, see what to do when you receive a trademark infringement notice. Likewise, do not publish an unverified statement naming a particular shop as a counterfeiter. If any detail is wrong, the legal exposure is yours, not theirs.
Staying protected, and what Yixing can and cannot do
Enforcement is ongoing work, so close the gaps after the first action. Useful habits include extending your Philippine registration to every class you sell or plan to sell in; consolidating ownership in the company's name and cleaning up filings left with individuals or agents; writing clear terms into distributor contracts on the scope of authorisation, what happens to stock on termination and a ban on registering the mark; running periodic sweeps of the main platforms and key retail areas and keeping the records; and adding verifiable security features to packaging while giving customer service a consistent way to explain authenticity.
Plan for the consumer side as well. Some buyers of fakes will come to you to complain or demand compensation. Explain that the item is not your product without making untested accusations against a named seller. A short identification guide and a list of official sales channels, used consistently, is safer and more useful than a public callout.
Yixing helps on the compliance and paperwork side: mapping the corporate entity and chain of authorisation, preparing the company documents and authorisations that platforms and authorities ask for, coordinating with licensed Philippine lawyers and IP agents, and tightening distributor contracts and internal monitoring afterwards. See our compliance retainer service. Yixing is not a law firm, does not litigate and cannot make findings on behalf of any authority, and it will not attempt to sway enforcement through personal contacts. Yixing International is a private consultancy registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Registration No. CS202009551), accredited by the Bureau of Immigration (BI Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1, valid to 30 June 2027) and holding DOLE and PRA accreditations. It is not part of, or affiliated with, any government office. For your specific case consult a licensed Philippine lawyer; this article is not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
My trademark is registered only in China. Can I act against fakes in the Philippines?
Can I go to the seller's shop and take the fake goods?
What do I need to file a counterfeit complaint with a marketplace?
The seller was taken down and reopened under another name. What now?
The fakes are imported. How do I stop them at the border?
A former distributor is still selling my brand. Is that counterfeiting?
Can I name the counterfeit seller on social media?
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