by David Barnett and Jane Jarosz
GenAI is changing the economics of online infringement
We have seen how the digital era has enhanced a multitude of social structures, completely changing access to, and the ability to use information. The key change has been the emergence of generative AI, which has lowered the technical entry barrier for fraud and counterfeiting, shifting it to industrial-scale deception.
Generative AI ("GenAI") applications are automated systems capable of generating sophisticated content - including text, images, audio and video - in response to user prompts. Many GenAI systems are built on models trained using vast volumes of existing content, allowing them to identify and reproduce statistical patterns within that material.
The rapid evolution and adoption of GenAI has made these capabilities accessible to businesses and consumers alike. More than 60% of the US population, for example, now uses GenAI services[1]. Familiar examples include OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini, image-generation platforms such as Midjourney, and coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot.
For brand owners, however, GenAI represents both an opportunity and an increasingly significant enforcement challenge. The same technologies being used to improve brand protection can also be exploited by counterfeiters, fraudsters and other infringers to produce convincing content at greater speed and scale than ever before.
The important point for businesses is that GenAI does not necessarily create entirely new forms of infringement. In many cases, it reduces the cost, skill and time required to carry out existing forms of abuse. At the same time, emerging capabilities - including deepfakes, voice cloning and increasingly sophisticated synthetic imagery - are creating new threat risks that traditional monitoring and enforcement processes may not adequately address.
The tactics counterfeiters are using with GenAI
For bad actors, GenAI can be used to automate or enhance almost every stage of a fraudulent campaign. Common applications include the creation of phishing e-mails[2], fake websites, malicious files, deceptive social-media content and other materials designed to look like a legitimate shopping journey.
This is how it has lowered the technical barrier to entry. A fraudster no longer needs sophisticated design, copywriting or coding skills to produce convincing content. GenAI can generate polished materials almost instantly, allowing relatively unsophisticated actors to operate with greater speed, credibility and scale.
For brands, this creates a particularly challenging combination: more content, produced faster, with fewer obvious indicators of fraud. AI-generated imagery is making counterfeit listings more convincing.
The counterfeit-goods market provides a clear example of how these capabilities can be applied.
AI image-generation tools can produce highly convincing representations of branded products, packaging and other brand assets. Counterfeiters may incorporate legitimate-looking product features, serial numbers and other characteristics into generated imagery, creating the appearance of authenticity in marketplace listings or promotional materials.
This can make basic visual verification significantly more difficult. A consumer or automated moderation system may be presented with imagery that appears to show a genuine product even when the underlying goods are counterfeit - or may not exist at all.
GenAI can also support the creation of merchandise incorporating protected intellectual property. Automated image-generation and listing tools, combined with print-on-demand services, can allow infringers to produce and market merchandise featuring protected designs or other IP with relatively little upfront investment[3].
For brand owners operating across large e-commerce ecosystems, the commercial implication is significant: the volume of potentially infringing content can increase without a corresponding increase in the infringer’s cost or effort.
How deepfakes and voice cloning create a new impersonation threat
One of the more difficult emerging challenges is the use of AI-generated video and audio to impersonate trusted individuals. Deepfake technology can create convincing video or audio content depicting a person saying or doing something that never occurred. Voice-cloning technology can similarly reproduce recognisable voices from relatively small amounts of source material.
These techniques have already been observed in executive impersonation and payment-transfer scams[4], as well as identity theft of famous actors and actresses. The same capabilities can also be applied to counterfeit promotion and brand impersonation.
This is particularly relevant to brands that rely heavily on celebrity partnerships, influencers or high-profile executives. A synthetic video appearing to show an influencer endorsing a counterfeit product can potentially be distributed across social networks and messaging applications in seconds.
The resulting risk is not limited to lost sales. A convincing fake endorsement can also create reputational damage, consumer confusion and questions about the authenticity of the brand's legitimate marketing activity.
Why brand and marketing teams need to think beyond counterfeit takedowns
For businesses, the increasing sophistication of GenAI-enabled infringement reinforces the need to treat online brand protection as a strategic risk-management function rather than simply a reactive takedown exercise.
Monitoring remains important, but it is only one part of the response. Businesses should consider how their IP portfolio, online monitoring strategy, enforcement processes and evidence-gathering capabilities all work together. A strong IP portfolio can be particularly valuable because enforcement platforms and intermediaries commonly require rights holders to demonstrate ownership of the relevant rights before any action can be taken.
This means that IP protection and online enforcement have become closely connected. A well-structured portfolio can provide the legal foundation needed to respond quickly when infringing content appears, while proactive monitoring can help prevent unauthorised use from becoming widespread.
A robust IP portfolio provides the foundation for enforcement
Intellectual property encompasses a range of rights, including trademarks, copyright, patents and registered designs. The appropriate combination will depend on the business, its products, its markets and the nature of the risks it faces.
Trademarks are particularly important in brand-protection programmes because they identify the commercial origin of goods or services. They most commonly protect words, names and logos, but trademark protection can extend to other distinctive characteristics - including, in appropriate circumstances, colours, sounds and even smells.
For businesses operating internationally, the practical challenge is not simply having 'a trademark'. Protection needs to be considered across the relevant jurisdictions, goods and services and forms of brand expression. This becomes increasingly important as infringers move beyond straightforward copying of a logo or word mark and begin exploiting the wider identity of a brand, and its shopping experience.
Personal brands are becoming IP assets
The growing threat of deepfakes is also changing how high-profile individuals think about their personal brands. Celebrities, athletes and other public figures are increasingly exploring whether distinctive aspects of their identity can be protected through IP rights. Examples include registrations by Taylor Swift covering a range of marks associated with her stage name, album titles, lyrics and other aspects of her brand[5], as well as applications by footballer Cole Palmer relating to his name, nickname, signature, portrait and goal celebration[6,7,8,9].
Other prominent examples include registrations by footballers Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé and Gareth Bale relating to their names and celebrations, and IP protection obtained by athlete Usain Bolt for his distinctive "lightning bolt" pose.
These developments illustrate a broader commercial trend: personal identity can itself become an important brand asset. For individuals with substantial commercial profiles, protecting that identity can support both enforcement against unauthorised exploitation and legitimate licensing opportunities.
The importance of a multi-layered protection strategy
These issues are particularly relevant in jurisdictions such as the UK, where there is no standalone statutory 'image right' providing comprehensive protection against commercial exploitation of an individual's likeness. Instead, protection may need to be constructed from a combination of rights and legal principles, including passing off, privacy, data protection, copyright and trademark law. Each has different requirements and limitations.
For example, copyright may protect a particular photograph or other creative work but does not necessarily provide protection for the individual depicted. Passing off can be useful in appropriate circumstances but has its own evidential requirements and limitations.
This makes a carefully constructed IP strategy particularly important where a business or individual faces a material risk of impersonation or unauthorised commercial exploitation.
What should businesses be doing to protect themselves?
GenAI is likely to continue increasing both the sophistication and volume of online infringement, enabling counterfeit networks to operate at a scale never possible before. Businesses should therefore consider whether their existing brand-protection programmes are designed for an environment in which convincing synthetic content can be generated at this scale and speed.
Key considerations include:
- Auditing the IP portfolio: identify important brands, products, designs and other assets that may require additional protection.
- Review territorial coverage: ensure protection exists in the jurisdictions where products are sold, manufactured, licensed or most frequently infringed.
- Protect distinctive brand assets: consider whether non-traditional elements of the brand could and should be protected.
- Expand monitoring beyond marketplaces: include social media, short-form video, websites, messaging channels and other relevant digital environments.
- Prepare for AI-generated impersonation: establish processes for identifying and evidencing deepfakes, synthetic imagery and voice clones.
- Strengthen evidence collection: ensure teams can demonstrate ownership of rights and preserve evidence in a form that supports rapid enforcement.
- Coordinate legal and commercial teams: brand protection, IP, cybersecurity, fraud and communications teams increasingly need to work together rather than operating in isolation.
- Prioritise by business impact: focus resources on infringements most likely to create financial, reputational or consumer-safety risks.
The strategic importance of IP is increasing
GenAI is not fundamentally changing the importance of IP rights; it is increasing the commercial value of having the right rights in place and being able to enforce them effectively.
For counterfeiters, GenAI provides a powerful toolkit for creating convincing content, scaling operations and reducing the cost of fraud. For brand owners, it raises the stakes around portfolio management, monitoring and enforcement.
The businesses best positioned to respond will be those that view IP protection as part of a broader digital risk strategy. A robust portfolio, combined with effective monitoring and rapid enforcement, provides a stronger foundation for protecting brand equity and reputation. This is especially true as the distinction between genuine and synthetic content becomes increasingly difficult to identify.
The central lesson is simply: as the tools available to infringers become more sophisticated, the strategic importance of owning, documenting and actively enforcing IP rights on an ongoing basis becomes much greater.
References
[1] https://www.genaiadoptiontracker.com/
[2] https://www.vectra.ai/topics/ai-scams
[3] https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA241203
[4] https://snapdragon-ip.com/black-friday-brand-protection-guide-resource/
[5] https://esquiretrademarks.com/how-many-trademarks-does-taylor-swift-have/
[6] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jDzJ7QECUzo
[7] https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004129108
This article was first published on 25 August 2026 at:
https://snapdragon-ip.com/the-top-generative-ai-tactics-used-by-counterfeiters-and-why-ip-matters/
