The latest AI technology combined with human experts is revolutionizing the fight against creative theft.
Written by: Heart of the Metaverse
Surveys show that 71.6% of consumers unknowingly purchased counterfeit products while seeking genuine ones, making it difficult even for the most vigilant consumers to distinguish between the two.
Worse, one-third of counterfeit products are purchased on platforms different from those initially promoted. Counterfeiters are operating across multiple platforms and channels, making it more challenging for brands to track and enforce their intellectual property.
It is based on this issue that MarqVision was born, committed to safeguarding and building a future driven by original thinking, creativity, and innovation.
01. 1-Minute Project Overview
1. Project Name: MarqVision
2. Established: 2020
3. Product Overview:
MarqVision's core product is a comprehensive brand protection and intellectual property management platform that leverages AI technology and big data analytics to help businesses combat counterfeit products globally, identify infringement, and provide legal support.
4. Founding Team:
Mark Lee: Founder and CEO, who established the company while pursuing his Doctor of Jurisprudence at Harvard Law School.
5. Funding Status:
On September 28, 2021, completed a $5 million seed round of financing led by SoftBank and Y Combinator;
On August 2, 2022, completed a $20 million Series A financing led by Atinum Partners and DST Global;
On October 2, 2024, completed a $16 million Series A financing led by Altos Ventures.
02. Marq AI Assists Brand Protection
With the rapid growth of e-commerce platforms, counterfeit goods and brand infringement have surged, leading many brands to experience reputational and financial losses. Counterfeit goods and digital piracy are no longer just a nuisance but a global issue worth $2 trillion.
Not just physical products, 3% of counterfeit purchases are now made through AI chatbots, with counterfeiters hiding behind private messages, making it almost impossible to catch them without advanced technology. Traditional brand protection methods struggle to cope with this trend, while advancements in AI technology offer new ideas for brand management.
Given the accelerating shift in business models that today's enterprises face, it's time to use new weapons.
MarqVision launched its new generative AI product Marq AI with the latest $16 million funding:
Dialogue Assistant: Social commerce is thriving; unfortunately, counterfeit transactions hidden in private messages are also on the rise. Marq AI Dialogue Assistant uses artificial intelligence to scan and analyze messages across platforms and languages from the world's largest brands, achieving an accuracy rate of over 99% in identifying counterfeit sales. It collects the evidence needed for them to take swift action while staying ahead of the evolving strategies used by counterfeiters to hide their activities.
Smart Dashboard: Data is only useful when actionable. The redesigned dashboard not only displays pie charts and numbers but also provides users with detailed insights into why each item is flagged as counterfeit. No more inflated detection numbers, just factual analysis of the items being assessed.
Automated Copyright Workflow: Since the outbreak of the pandemic, digital piracy has increased by 36%, and businesses need faster, more scalable ways to handle copyright infringement. Marq AI automates the entire process, from data collection to sending enforcement notices. What once took 20 hours a week can now be completed with just a few clicks.
Intelligent Enforcement: What sets Marq AI apart is its ability to continuously learn and improve. Over time, Marq AI becomes smarter and can automatically execute enforcement actions, such as sending takedown requests and soft notices, saving expert teams significant time needed to pursue infringing clients.
03. MarqVision × Xiaomi Indonesia
Since its establishment in 2010, Xiaomi has rapidly grown to become a leading smartphone manufacturer globally and one of China's top companies. In Indonesia, Xiaomi holds significant influence but also faces challenges from counterfeit products and intellectual property infringements, which threaten brand value and hinder market expansion.
To maintain growth and customer trust, Xiaomi Indonesia recognizes the importance of protecting brand reputation and intellectual property. As the central management head of Xiaomi Indonesia, Farid Harahap is responsible for ensuring smooth company operations, including legal compliance and intellectual property protection. At the same time, Xiaomi Indonesia also has to deal with parallel import issues, as these gray market activities infringe on its intellectual property.
Given the broad and complex product portfolio, Xiaomi Indonesia chose to collaborate with MarqVision to leverage its technology to optimize brand protection processes. Xiaomi selected 500 product assets for protection, and MarqVision's AI software regularly scans online markets to identify and report counterfeit products and infringing accounts, tracking and identifying repeat offenders through seller intelligence features.
Harahap emphasizes that MarqVision's rapid response and customized services are crucial for Xiaomi Indonesia, helping the company balance business expansion, counterfeit risk investigations, and social responsibility commitments. This collaboration enables Xiaomi Indonesia to mitigate the impact of counterfeit products on revenue and brand reputation, enhancing consumer awareness of genuine products, particularly in the heavily counterfeited Indonesian market, thus contributing to national economic growth and employment.
With MarqVision, Xiaomi Indonesia successfully increased the success rate of removing infringing products to 99%, automatically detecting 5,000 products per month without additional effort to expand protection. This innovative brand protection strategy ensures Xiaomi's long-term business growth in the Indonesian market.
04. The Fight Against Piracy is an Uphill Battle
TikTok, a massive platform attracting 1 billion users globally each month, faces a severe challenge with the proliferation of pirated content. From classic films to the latest blockbusters, unauthorized clips frequently appear in users' feeds, raising copyright protection concerns. This is especially true for the youth demographic, where consumption of pirated media is becoming normalized, further complicating anti-piracy efforts.
TikTok's transparency report shows a continuous increase in intellectual property infringement in recent years. While TikTok is willing to cooperate with businesses on brand protection efforts, the growing user base and limitations of content review mean that brands still need to fend for themselves to ensure their intellectual property is not violated.
The impact of piracy on the media industry is profound. It not only robs copyright holders of revenue from copyrighted media but can also lead to audience dissatisfaction with the media experience.
Although some brands attempt to use TikTok as a promotional platform, encouraging users to shift to paid platforms for a better viewing experience, this strategy has yet to prove successful. Meanwhile, media payment on TikTok is generally low, making it difficult for media companies to realize substantial returns.
In the face of piracy issues on TikTok, brands need to take proactive measures to protect their intellectual property. On one hand, they can rely on TikTok's platform to cooperate with takedown requests for infringing content; on the other hand, brands also need to take the initiative to monitor and combat piracy using technologies such as artificial intelligence.
In summary, whether on the TikTok platform or other media and brands, the issue of piracy has always been a complex and serious challenge. However, with the rise of AI copyright protection platforms like MarqVision, this problem is expected to be effectively alleviated. Only through the joint efforts of platforms, brands, and consumers can a healthy and sustainable social media and consumption environment be built.
Reference Links:
1. https://www.marqvision.com/
2. https://www.kedglobal.com/artificial-intelligence/newsView/ked202410040014