IP Summit: brands must be wary of aggressive social media policies

Brands must think carefully before taking action against alleged infringers on social media websites, a panel warned at the IP Summit in Alicante.

Representatives from BskyB, Skype and Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouet, joined by a lawyer from Bird & Bird, took part in a lively discussion that revealed understanding how customers will react to aggressive enforcement strategies is of primary importance to many brands.

“Think about how your customers will view things and how they will react,” said Susie Carr, trademark counsel at Skype.

Susan Gustafsson, general counsel at drinks brand Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouet, added that brands must accept that people will “always be faster while you will always be behind. Think about how your policies will damage your brand”.

Outlining her company’s social media policies, she said that trademark counsel must define their “action plan” by working with marketing colleagues, bearing in mind the impact on their consumers.

“We had to define the ‘golden rules’ for when to take action. These included when people were inciting others to drink, when people were counterfeiting our goods and when people were providing racist connotations.”

“If you make a company-wide policy, it has to appeal to the business people. Be short, concise and speak the business language.

Anna Marie-Norman, head of brand protection at BskyB, said brands should take advantage of tools that monitor potential infringement online, not just to protect their rights but also to see “what people think about you”.

She said that BskyB, which owns Sky Television, has to monitor a “huge” number of Facebook pages. “We use a number of technologies to search domain names and Facebook pages. Passing off, particularly on social media, is very difficult to combat.”