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FAQ
Brand Protection

What are the most important features of Sentryc?

Sentryc offers you a central tool with which you can monitor the use of your trademark online and remove unauthorized use quickly and effectively:

Sentyc offers:

Free risk analysis of your brand/s by our analysts to create your individual risk profile and as a basis for the choice of platforms to be monitored.
Removal of unlawful offers on the platforms that infringe your property rights within 24-48 hours.
Coverage of all relevant online marketplaces (OMPs), as well as connection of special OMPs on request.
Coverage of social media platforms (SMPs) and "wild" websites.
User-friendly and intuitive software to make your online brand protection as easy as possible for you.
Many automation options so that your trademark protection only takes as much time as you want.
A customized set-up by developing your own individual algorithm.

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Why is it important to register my trademark?

Registering one's trademark is of great importance for both newly established and established companies. It is the only way to ensure that all the elements of a company that make it competitive and highlight its values are protected - in the eyes of both customers and investors.

With the increasing success of your company, your brand also becomes more valuable, as your customers associate certain characteristics with your brand. By registering a trademark, you secure this exclusivity and create the basis for a sustainable and legally secure differentiation from your competitors.

Product pirates are aware of your company's market position and exploit it to distribute imitations to unsuspecting consumers or to follow your success and ultimately sell your own products. This way, they don't bear any of the risk associated with developing and establishing a product, or minimize their marketing budget by using your brand - which you have invested in building - to redirect potential customers to their "no-name" products.

Furthermore, the priority principle generally applies to trademark applications, according to which the trademark applied for first enjoys trademark protection over trademarks registered later. A trademark registration gives you an exclusive right to use your trademark. This prohibits third parties from using the features of your trademark on identical or similar products. As the trademark owner, you therefore have the exclusive right to sell your products and intellectual property under your trademark. If your registered trademark is used unlawfully, you can force the infringer to cease this infringement or claim damages and take legal action against him.

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Why are counterfeits sold on online marketplaces?

Most counterfeits come from non-EU countries, so online marketplaces are the perfect sales channel for product pirates to sell their counterfeits at any time of day, anywhere in the world.

Online marketplaces also offer enormous sales potential due to their reach and permanent availability, thus making it possible to establish lucrative sales channels in a very short time. At the same time, product pirates can act anonymously to the greatest possible extent, which means that the risk of being pursued or prosecuted for counterfeit products is supposedly low.

Product pirates sometimes even use the image material of the original manufacturer for their offers and make it impossible for the consumer to distinguish between the original and the fake. But also packaging or quality seals are counterfeited in this context.

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Which products are counterfeited?

Product pirates do not limit their activities to goods that are traditionally highly susceptible to counterfeiting, such as cosmetics and fashion items. New manufacturing technologies make it possible to counterfeit not only trendy products but also specialist items such as tools, spare parts or even entire machines for professional use.

The product pirates are not concerned with the product or its usefulness - their yardstick is the potential profit they can make by selling the imitations. In most cases, they limit themselves to imitating external product features, thereby deliberately misleading consumers about the quality and origin of the imitation. The functionality, necessary safety features as well as quality standards and environmental regulations during production are mostly disregarded by the counterfeiters.

In short, any product that has achieved an attractive sales market and a certain level of recognition in its industry comes into the focus of product pirates and is thus a possible counterfeiting target.

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How do I register my trademark?

Trade marks are registered with the trade mark offices of the countries for which legal protection is sought. For Germany this is the DPMA and for Europe the EUIPO. After successful national registration, protection can be enjoyed worldwide via WIPO.

It should be checked in advance whether the trade mark to be registered is opposed by any third-party trade mark rights or other rights. This can be done by research on relevant platforms such as the register of trade mark offices or by legal service providers. When filing the application, the trade mark office itself initially only checks whether there is a public interest in opposing the application, and not whether there is a collision with another trade mark. This is only examined upon opposition by another trademark right holder.

Furthermore, it is crucial for which product categories you register your trademark, the so-called "Nice Classes". This means that your brand name is only protected within these product categories. For this purpose, you should always include your long-term product strategy with a legal service provider during the registration process and get advice on which "Nice Classes" might be additionally relevant for your company in 5-10 years.

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What is the difference between conventional trademark protection and the use of Sentryc?

Digitalization and globalization have led to an enormous increase in the speed with which products are produced, advertised and distributed. Hundreds of offers can in principle be made accessible to the entire networked world with a click.

Conventional brand protection strategies usually involve hiring in-house lawyers or external legal support to protect and enforce a company's intellectual property. This may still make sense! However, it now requires technical support to continue to operate efficiently at a high pace given the increased volume. This is because product pirates also make use of the latest technology and work with bots, for example, to place their offers online.

Modern Brand Protection software, such as that from Sentryc, is able to automate much of the basic, repetitive tasks that do not necessarily need to be performed by individual lawyers or other specialists. This automation allows online platforms to be effectively searched and potential counterfeits to be identified and deleted much more quickly.

The legal follow-up can then still be initiated in the second step on the basis of the documentation and further analyses - which Sentryc prepares - if required.

By taking the offer offline, however, any further damage that could be caused by harmful offers is prevented in the first step. And there is enough time to consult with your legal service provider on the appropriate strategy for following up on the "big fish" and, if necessary, to once again defend your products and brands particularly effectively.

The use of Sentryc is therefore not opposed to conventional trademark protection, but helps to create transparency and automate many small repetitive steps, so that you can act faster and more cost-efficiently.

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FAQ
Sentryc's Product

Are there additional costs for customer support?

No, every Sentryc user can reach out to our customer support.

How do I reach customer support if I need help?

You can email us at support@sentryc.com and we will get back to you in a timely manner.

If you have any questions or technical problems using Sentryc, click the "Write us!" button in the lower left corner of your account to contact us.

Can I increase the number of platforms covered or change my package?

Yes, you can add new online marketplaces or platforms to your monitoring plan at any time.

You can also commission our Health Check every 3 to 6 months. Our analysts regularly review the risk profile of your brand and advise you whether the selection of platforms continues to include all relevant platforms for you or whether changes to the current scope are recommended.

Basically, we are always at your side to optimize your monitoring plan and adjust it if necessary.

Are there any costs apart from the monthly basic fee?

No. The basic monthly fee remains unchanged and includes unlimited submission of deletion requests for identified offers.

You can book supplementary services such as test purchases, rogue websites or social media packages as required in addition to your jointly created brand protection package. These are also billed on a monthly basis.

How much does the Sentryc software cost?

Get started with a free analysis with one of our Brand Protection experts.

Our prices are based on your individual needs and the scope of service you choose. We will be happy to provide you with more detailed information upon request.

Do I get a permanent contact person at Sentryc?

Yes, as a new customer you will have a dedicated contact person who will guide you throughout the onboarding process and answer any questions you may have.

Which online marketplaces do I choose for my monitoring through Sentryc?

In order to optimally protect your brand, an analysis of your individual situation is necessary. With our risk analysis, we provide you with an overview of the online marketplaces where the Sentryc software has identified many suspicious offers of your brand.

On this basis and that of the existing trademark applications for the product to be protected, our experts will draw up a tailor-made offer for you.

What incentive do online marketplaces have to remove unfair offers from their platforms?

Sentryc cooperates with many marketplaces and platforms, because online marketplaces and platforms are of course also obliged to comply with the law. It so happens that these platforms naturally also have an interest in minimising such harmful offers as soon as they become officially aware of a possible infringement.

Online marketplaces and other platforms also play with their reputation and credibility if counterfeits and plagiarisms are increasingly sold there. Publicly made accusations of fraud are also primarily directed at the online marketplace, because defrauded customers in most cases primarily remember the name of the marketplace where they purchased the product. It is often difficult for them to grasp which trader they actually purchased the product from behind the faceless trader's name.

If online marketplaces sell counterfeits on their platform, they also run the risk of companies deciding to permanently withdraw their offerings from the platforms. For example, in 2019, sporting goods manufacturer Nike halted its two-year partnership with Amazon in response to the platform's failure to sufficiently crack down on counterfeiters and unauthorized gray market retailers.

In an automated process, we inform the platforms about the harmful offer on behalf of the rights holder and request its deletion. This is then carried out via the automated process usually on the same day.

In this way, we work hand in hand with the platforms and have built up valuable collaborations here.

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Do I get regular reports?

From your first take down, you have the ability to download clearly presented information on specific online marketplaces, products or sellers from your dashboard as a PDF report or CSV export.

Do I need to install software to use Sentryc?

No. Sentryc is a completely web-based software and therefore you only need a web browser and an internet connection to use it.

My product data has changed. Can I update them?

Yes, you can adjust your product data together with our experts if necessary.