A warning for top trending fashion brands that only exist online

Intellectual property vultures love ripping off trendy online brands

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As eCommerce steadily gains momentum, it has spawned entire empires that exist solely online. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the apparel industry. Today, hoards of budding designers are bypassing the treacherous path toward retail-shelf placement, opting instead to peddle their wares in online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and Poshmark. Many however, are completely unaware of how vigilant they need to be about protecting brands online.

This is especially true with emerging fashion trends. Run a search for “Steampunk” on Amazon, for example, and you’ll get links to dozens of brands, many of whom are only available online. While sales may be through the roof, this business model can be a fool’s paradise.

Indeed, many of these young fashion entrepreneurs are unaware of the risks that exist in these online marketplaces. While they busy themselves counting sales numbers, thousands of intellectual property vultures are scheming to steal their ideas, produce knock-offs, and/or acquire the brand’s own products through illicit channels, only to resell them in the same online marketplaces at prices cheaper than the brand itself.