AI-Generated 'Fakes' Put Brand IP Protection Startups in the Spotlight as Counterfeit Goods Surge

Brand Protection Software Evolves with AI
Market to Reach KRW 12 Trillion by 2035

As counterfeit goods distribution shifts online, interest is growing in artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies for protecting brands’ intellectual property (IP). This is driven by advances in counterfeiting techniques, with generative AI now making it possible to copy not only product photos but also advertising copy and entire online stores. AI-based IP protection startups are responding by accelerating their efforts.

On November 3, WegoFair, an AI-based online brand protection company, said it plans to make its “test purchase” service a regular offering and strengthen its database of counterfeit sellers. The service involves purchasing suspected counterfeit products directly to determine whether they are genuine. The company aims to respond effectively to sellers who continue selling counterfeits by changing business entities or moving between platforms.

WegoFair is also promoting its “expert-reviewed AI” approach. When its AI identifies suspected counterfeit products across more than 1,500 online marketplaces and social media services (SNS), patent attorneys and IP experts review the findings and submit reports. This helps reduce the risk of mistakenly blocking genuine products. Since 2023, WegoFair has served as an implementing agency for the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency’s overseas counterfeit enforcement support program and also supports enforcement efforts in China. It has achieved tangible results in brand protection, including helping DESCENTE KOREA prevent approximately KRW 7.7 billion in losses over three months last year. “By combining the speed of AI with the expertise of patent attorneys, we will help small and medium-sized K-brands without dedicated teams protect their brands at the level of large corporations,” said WegoFair CEO Kim Jongmyeon.

MarkVision is also working to protect K-brands and prevent overseas counterfeiting losses for Korean brands. It uses AI to detect and remove counterfeit goods and illegal content being sold or distributed online without authorization across 118 countries. MarkVision said that in the first half of this year, the number of customers with annual contracts worth at least KRW 150 million increased approximately threefold year over year. Demand from new domestic customers focused on counterfeits distributed through global marketplaces and social media services (SNS), as well as blocking impersonation websites and phishing attempts enabled by generative AI.

The market is expected to grow further as counterfeit goods distributed online continue to increase. According to the Ministry of Intellectual Property, 210,034 counterfeit K-brand products were blocked on overseas online platforms last year, up 30% in two years; small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 77.8% of the affected businesses. Market research firm Market Research Future also forecast that the online brand protection software market would grow at an average annual rate of 11.4%, from $2.99 billion in 2025 to $8.82 billion in 2035 (approximately KRW 12 trillion).

“As global e-commerce expansion by K-beauty and other sectors accelerates, the risks of AI-enabled counterfeit distribution and unauthorized sales have also grown, particularly on overseas marketplaces and through social media commerce,” an industry official said. “The scope of brand protection is also rapidly expanding beyond traditional responses to counterfeit goods to include AI-based risk management.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.