Our Value is Brand Value: Combating Unauthorized Resellers – KJK

In today’s ecommerce-driven economy, brand owners face a relentless challenge: unauthorized resellers who flood online marketplaces with products that undermine brand value, confuse consumers and compromise quality standards. These resellers may operate in gray areas legally, and often anonymously, but the harm they inflict is real and enduring.

It is important to not just react but to proactively implement strategies that preserve long-term brand integrity, manage legal risk and promote and protect customer trust.

Why Enforcement Is Necessary

Unauthorized resellers are not merely offering alternative sources for genuine products; they are often indifferent to the standards and reputation a brand has worked hard to build. Many of these sellers list returned, used, open-box, damaged or expired products as “new,” diminishing the consumer experience, risking negative reviews or causing warranty issues that reflect poorly on the brand.

With this, a brand is at risk of suffering reputational damage and incurring unnecessary customer service costs, potentially leading to a loss of market share—all while the reseller profits from the brand’s goodwill without contributing to its development or protection.

Because these sellers appear and disappear quickly, brand owners must maintain a constant enforcement presence. Inaction invites more unauthorized activity, increasing the scale and cost of the problem.

Marketplace Tools Help — But They Aren’t Enough

While platforms like Amazon, Walmart, or eBay offer brand protection programs and infringement reporting tools, such as Brand Registry, Transparency, Brand Portal or Vero, these mechanisms are inherently limited. Marketplaces benefit from the volume of listings and the number of third-party sellers, even when those sellers trade on a brand’s reputation without permission.

Brand owners must often initiate their own investigations, build seller identification strategies, and prepare enforcement actions across a patchwork of accounts. These tasks demand a level of precision, legal rigor, and resource allocation that platform tools alone cannot provide.

Understanding the Legal Landscape

Unauthorized and gray market resellers present challenges to brands, as these resellers attempt to seek cover under the First-Sale Doctrine. While the legal framework for resale under the First-Sale Doctrine is nuanced, but it generally permits the resale of genuine goods. However, it does not protect resellers who misrepresent product condition, interfere with the brand’s ability to maintain consistent quality standards or otherwise sell a materially different product. Brands can proactively put in place a legal foundation that limits resellers’ ability to rely on the First Sale Doctrine.

How We Help Brands Stay Ahead

We offer brand owners more than litigation. We help:

• Develop brand protection policies that support long-term commercial goals and consumer trust.
• Draft and implement distribution agreements that preserve downstream control and reduce or prevent channel conflict.
• Design enforcement plans to detect and respond to unauthorized sellers efficiently.
• Engage with marketplaces using both automated tools and direct legal correspondence.
• Pursue litigation selectively and strategically to establish precedent and deter bad actors.

Ultimately, protecting a brand’s identity in the digital age requires a blend of legal strategy, market insight and assertive action. KJK’s eCommerce group works with brands—from the owners to the sales teams—to craft comprehensive enforcement plans that evolve with the marketplace so that they can focus on growth without compromising on reputation.

Contact

To help your business stay ahead, contact Alex Jones (AEJ@kjk.com), Kyle Stroup (KDS@kjk.com), Antonio Dempsey (AFD@kjk.com) or anyone in KJK’s eCommerce practice group.