Vorys Releases White Paper Focused on Long-Term Brand Value
As virtually all consumer product manufacturers and brands now realize, the world is becoming increasingly e-commerce driven. While this paradigm shift has ushered in several opportunities for businesses, it also presents significant challenges.
One of the most significant challenges businesses now face is how to effectively enforce Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies and uphold brand value in the face of a constant assault from diverters and unauthorized sellers who advertise their products at levels that harm their brands. Vorys has released a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind white paper, which explains the most effective strategies they have discovered to help maintain brand value.
“Even the most iconic brands must act swiftly and aggressively to address this very real threat,” said Whitney Gibson, leader of the Vorys online seller enforcement team and a co-author of the white paper. “We’ve helped dozens of companies tackle these issues. Through these experiences, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve taken those key points and strategies and summarized them in this white paper.”
The majority of issues relating to long-term erosion of brand value arise from intermediated and uncontrolled distribution, according to the white paper. This leads to unsecured authorized channels, which leads to product diversion and unauthorized sellers.
As the number of unauthorized sellers begins to increase, companies typically have no ability to take effective and efficient enforcement actions against them. These factors combine to foreclose the ability to run an effective MAP program and, inevitably, the brand’s value begins to erode.
The Vorys online seller enforcement team has helped brands across the country develop custom programs for confronting unauthorized sales, grey market sales, counterfeit sales, MAP violators and other illegal sales on the internet. They do this by combining legal, technological and investigative tools and services.
To download a PDF of the white paper, click here.
About Vorys: Vorys was established in 1909 and currently has nearly 375 attorneys in seven offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer. To learn more about the Vorys online seller enforcement practice, visit onlinesellerenforcement.com.
