Temu’s New Action Plan Against Illegal Goods

4 min read

Temu, the online marketplace, has a new action plan aimed at illegal goods after a €200 million fine under the European Union’s Digital Services Act. For brand owners who license their names to manufacturers, that’s a signal worth reading closely. Platform enforcement is becoming a larger part of how unlicensed product gets pulled off shelves and screens.

The fine and plan are reported by World Trademark Review. A caveat first. The material available to us gives the headline and the outline of the story, not the full text of the plan. Anything more specific about its mechanics should be checked against the original report.

What the Digital Services Act is

The Digital Services Act is an EU regulation that sets duties for online platforms, including how they handle illegal products listed by third-party sellers. It’s a different tool from trademark law. A trademark owner sues a seller. The Act asks the platform to run its own systems to find and remove illegal listings.

That difference matters for licensors.

A brand owner can spend months chasing individual sellers, while a platform fine can push the marketplace to change its listing checks across the whole catalog. Enforcement that starts at the platform level tends to reach more listings per action. How much it reduces counterfeits in practice is something the market will have to show over time.

Marketplace liability is the same question in a different form

A second story in the same World Trademark Review feed points the same way. The publication’s headline on Amazon and “Merch on Demand” asks where liability sits when a marketplace prints and sells goods that a third party designed. The full answer depends on the facts of that case, and the material we have doesn’t spell them out. The question itself is one licensees and licensors face every day.

Print-on-demand merchandise sits in a gray zone for brand owners. The seller may be a stranger, the design may borrow a licensed character, and the platform may handle printing, payment and shipping. If you license a brand into apparel, you need to know who’s responsible when a listing goes wrong.

Your contract with the licensee is only part of the answer.

What this means for a licensing program

The practical lesson is about records.

Most licensing programs track approved licensees and approved products, but fewer track where those products are sold after they leave the factory. When a platform takes action, the brand owner needs to show which listings are authorized and which aren’t.

Quality control is the other half of that record. A licensor who approves product samples, checks production runs and keeps a list of authorized sales channels has a clearer position when an unlicensed listing appears. Our earlier piece on quality control in trademark licensing covers how those approval steps work in practice.

The digital collectible question follows the same logic. A buyer of a digital item usually holds a license to use it, not full ownership of the underlying brand, and the terms set out what they can do with it. Whether a platform removes a listing or a court decides a dispute, the answer turns on the license wording. This is a general observation from the licensing side, not a reading of any specific contract. Questions about a particular license belong with a licensed attorney.

When a platform fine lands, the brand owner who already knows which listings are authorized has the easier job.

Questions people ask

What is the Digital Services Act?

The Digital Services Act is a European Union regulation that sets obligations for online platforms, including duties to address illegal goods sold through their sites. It applies in the EU, so US brand owners are affected mainly when their products are sold to EU buyers.

Does a platform fine stop counterfeit sales?

A fine alone doesn’t guarantee that. It can, however, push a platform to change how it screens sellers and listings. Brand owners should still monitor listings and keep their own records.

Who is responsible for print-on-demand merchandise?

Responsibility depends on the contracts, the platform’s role and the facts of each case. Licensors should write clear terms with licensees and speak with a licensed attorney about any specific dispute.

Should a licensor monitor marketplaces?

Monitoring is a sensible habit for most licensing programs. Keep a list of authorized sellers and sales channels so you can tell quickly when a listing isn’t one of them.