Temu expands Brand Guardian program to fight counterfeits

Temu has signed more than 1,500 brands to its Brand Guardian Initiative, as the fast-growing online marketplace expands its efforts to curb counterfeits and strengthen intellectual property enforcement on and beyond its platform.

The Chinese online retailer launched the program in April 2024 and has brought in brands selling on the Temu platform and others not on Temu. The scheme focuses on trademark protection and other intellectual property rights for brand owners that engage with the marketplace.

Temu positions the initiative as part of a broader response to scrutiny of counterfeit goods and misuse of brand identities on global eCommerce platforms. Large marketplaces face increasing pressure from regulators and rights holders to police third-party sellers on digital platforms.

The Brand Guardian Initiative offers direct engagement between Temu and participating brands. The company provides hands-on support and one-on-one assistance with intellectual property cases, including tutorials and takedown help.

Temu embeds trademark and other intellectual property rights information from enrolled brands into its protection systems. The company states that this structure allows quicker spotting and removal of suspected violations.

Regular insight reports form part of the program, where Temu sends them to brands to keep them updated on enforcement outcomes and improve the effectiveness of protection measures over time.

Brands can participate in the initiative even if they do not list products on the marketplace. The company presents this as an attempt to address infringement risks that may arise from unauthorised sellers or product listings that imitate off-platform brands.

Temu reports that it now conducts proactive monitoring for more than 5,000 brands.

The company says it resolves more than 99 per cent of takedown requests within three business days, reporting an average turnaround time of less than 24 hours.

Temu has built a proprietary proactive monitoring database that holds more than five million images and nine million keywords. The database supports automated detection efforts and feeds into the review processes of its in-house intellectual property team.

In addition to the Brand Guardian Initiative, Temu operates notice-and-takedown portals covering various types of intellectual property issues. Rights holders can use these portals to submit complaints and request removal of allegedly infringing listings.

The marketplace runs 24/7 monitoring that uses proprietary algorithms alongside human expert review. An internal team handles incoming requests and enforces platform rules against sellers where violations are confirmed.

The company says it is working with global intellectual property organisations on enforcement efforts while also participating in industry forums that address online brand protection and best practices for tackling counterfeits.

Temu says these external collaborations feed into the design of its internal systems and the update cycle for its enforcement tools. The Brand Guardian Initiative forms a central part of this strategy.