The article points out that the protection of the rights of intellectual property in e-commerce is of great importance. It protects creative ideas and information such as music, designs, and software-characteristic and sold online. E-commerce would lose value and credibility if proper protection was maintained. A strong connection exist between IPR and e-commerce because many products which include intellectual property are being sold and added on these platforms. However, finding IP theft on the internet, like brand copying or selling fake products, is hard. This problem affects customers, honest sellers, and online shopping websites.

The article tells the need for strict laws and company policies to protect IP in e-commerce. Sellers should be allowed to apply for various trademarks, copyrights, and patents for their products. E-commerce should consequently have strict rules against IP theft, use tools like image recognition, and work with sellers in the protection of their products. Companies like Amazon and Alibaba have started to do something to stop selling fraud products. The TRIPS agreement is the fundamental international law in protecting IP, and in India, laws related to the Consumer Protection Rules and the IT Act have become very important. It says that governments, e-commerce platforms, and sellers must come together to fight the crime of stealing ideas in order to protect creative and unique products in the digital world.

What Is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property means the creation made by the human mind and the rights of that property are intellectual property rights[1]. It is protection of one's own creation with their mind. As now developing technology and digital presence these rights of intellectual property are continuously getting infringed and copied by others. In the present digital world, there are many people who are starting online selling which is E-commerce which has monetization, now we will discuss in this research paper the protection of intellectual property rights on the E-commerce sector.
In legal terms, intellectual property is identified under the definition of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

According to this organization, IP is referred into 2 categories they are:

1. Properties with creative ideas and literary pieces, which come under copyright.
2. Properties related to industry like inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, trade secrets, and geographical indications.[2]

IPR And E-Commerce

Intellectual property rights play an important part in e-commerce. Anyhow of its significance, most of the time one fails to identify its significance in understanding it. IP and e-commerce are linked to each other. In this digital period from a single word to a communication to huge lines, vids, audio, art, designs, filmland etc everything was transferred digitally. Intellectual property is important in these cases because it protects the rights of possessors' property. If these IP rights aren't defended and violated it'll be a veritably loss fore-commerce businesses.

If a violation passed like unlawfully using business objects if there's no law to cover it it would be veritably devasting that's why IP rights are veritably pivotal in e-commerce. IP means making up a vast maturity of commercial coffers. Using traditional IP rights would be tough for advanced technology. This exploration paper deals with several challenges faced by e-commerce, and results to cover IP rights using colourful legal fabrics and precedents.

As every palpable property is defended fairly, impalpable parcels should also be defended as their creations of one own intellect and unique impalpable property like trades, electronic content, designs, audio, music etc intellectual property is veritably pivotal and when we relate e-commerce business it's veritably pivotal to cover because-commerce include their objects, interests, their designs like it can be website design, product
IPR rights in theE-commerce sector include patents, imprints, trademarks, and trade secrets. First let us know what these rights are i.e. patent, brand, trademark and trade.

And now protection IP rights fall under the first 5 kinds i.e. patents, trademarks, imprints, trade secrets and artificial designs.

Kinds Of E-Commerce

E-commerce refers to digital business. The website for the company is a great tool to generate sales and for online business. There are 4 types of e-commerce [3]

1. B2B (Business to Business) Companies doing business with each other like the business between manufacturers and distributors and wholesalers and retailers. Here the price of goods can be negotiable as they do business in bulk goods.
    
2. B2C (Business to Consumer) Here the name itself depicts that business-to-consumer, i.e., a company sells its products or services directly to individual consumers, who are end users. We can take an example as retailers that sell goods directly to customers through the internet.
    
3. C2C (Consumer to Consumer) Here individuals sell their products or services to other consumers, usually through online platforms. There are two main ways to operate this system: through auctions and classifieds.
    
4. C2B (Consumer to Business) It is a business model where a consumer provides a product, service, or valuable input that a business organization uses to improve its operations, gain a competitive advantage, or complete a business process.

Importance Of IPR On E-Commerce

As we all know, there are two main categories of intellectual property, i.e., copyrights and related rights & industrial property. Many other intellectual property types are involved in e-commerce transactions. The most common ones are related to the entertainment industry, including films, music, videos, and photographs.

But beyond the entertainment industry, businesses that offer products or services with new technology, unique designs, or special features depend on various IP rights, such as patents, designs, and trademarks. These intellectual properties are crucial for building an e-commerce platform.

Many e-commerce platforms face many problems nowadays, like fake products, misleading ads and unclear ownership, which make people confused about the products. These platforms now make the sellers confirm the ownership of their intellectual property rights before selling their products online. This is because when the ownership is provided, owners can prove their ownership of the property and initiate legal action if someone uses it without permission, and protect their intellectual hard work from infringing.

Significance Of IPR On E-Commerce

Intellectual property rights are important because these rights protect intellectual property from infringements. Intellectual property is a very valuable asset in e-commerce because it distinguishes a business from its competitors.

IPR provides protection through different means, such as patents, geographical indications, trademarks, and copyrights. These ensure that intellectual property is unique, different from others, and secured.
The owner of IP rights, i.e., the IP holder, gains an advantage and exclusive rights in benefiting from and controlling that intellectual property. This means the owner can legally enforce these rights and capitalize on the IP in the marketplace.

The protection provided by IPR is not permanent; it has a specific time period until it expires. Depending on the type of IPR, this protection can be renewed or extended.

Why IPR On E-Commerce:

• Susceptibility of E-commerce: The e-commerce industry, by its very nature, suffers from many types of unfair exploitation. With augmented technology and the use of the internet, unfair competition is being created. Due to such kinds of unfair and fraudulent behaviours, the environment of online becomes more unpleasant and causes a loss of consumer trust and authority due to the breaching of IPR.
• Global Exposure: E-commerce is a new breed of business as compared to traditional and local marketplaces. This feature makes any business global. Still, on this global platform, intellectual property can be infringed, exploited, or even stolen without the owner's knowledge, and others are making revenues using somebody else's IP rights.
• Regulation of Online Activities: IPR ensures that online activities are run within legal boundaries and maintains them legally. This regulation is of immense importance because, in the absence of the same, online businesses would be chaotic, characterized by unrestrained IP theft and unabated unfair practices.
   

Elements Protected Under IPR in E-Commerce

As mentioned above, an online business implies the presence of a website. A website is composed of different elements, like code, design, and content, each of which is protected under different kinds of IP.

1. A lot of the e-commerce systems, search engines, and Internet tools are protected by utility models or are patented. Protection through the Utility model or Patents is only granted to new and useful inventions or creations.
2. Software: The HTML code, essentially, is some kind of programming language that represents every website; these languages are textual by their very nature. The textual nature of the code is covered under copyright or patent law, depending on the country's laws.
3. Website contents: Photographs, written material, graphics, music, and videos are copyright material. This means that some creators have the exclusive right to use and distribute their works.
4. Website aesthetics: The appearance and feel of a website are protected by copyright laws and cannot be duplicated without authorization.
5. Database protection: A database may be protected by special database laws in some countries, while in others, it may be protected by copyright. In these countries, both the organisation and the structure of the data in the database are protected.
6. Business names, logos, product names, and domain names: These are protected under trademark law. A trademark generally refers to an indicator that helps identify and tell apart the goods and services of one business from those of another.
7. Webpages, GUIs, and graphic symbols: The industrial design law protects Web pages, graphical user interfaces, and computer-generated graphic symbols. They discuss the designs' aesthetics.
8. Hidden features of a website: Trade secret laws protect components that are not accessible to the general public, including programs, data flow charts, user manuals, algorithms, source code, object code, and confidential graphics. This safeguard guarantees the confidentiality of important technical and business data.

Challenges Faced By E-Commerce In Ipr Regulation
According to the survey results about 38% of online buyers are receiving counterfeit products and 1/3rd have received copied products which are fake. This problem highlights the unfair nature in the online marketplace[5]
These scams regarding counterfeit products can be in different forms those include including selling cheaper branded products which a normal customer can't able to identify which is original and which is fake products, stealing ideas from creators and generating revenue, and mimicking websites. Due to these kinds of scams, it will be difficult to identify the original products which will make to problem worse.

Due to these issues nowadays there are 3 kinds of victims who suffer loss because of these scams those are:

1. Buyers
2. Sellers, and
3. E-commerce websites

Buyers are those who purchase products online or offline. When the buyer orders a product online if he/she receives fake products and gets deceived results in losing trust in online shopping.
Sellers are the people or companies who sell goods and services to consumers, these sellers are legitimate and have a unique idea with them, when their products or services are copied or stolen or mimicked by counterfeiters these sellers suffer losses like losing their target audience due to trust issues and which leads to loss of revenue.

e-commerce websites: Hosts of such transactions have the further nuisance of copyright violation and the financial damages incurred as a consequence ("intermediary liability") and have to address customer concerns about the legitimacy of their sites.

Jurisdiction challenges:
Laws vary from one region to another which makes it difficult to address the problems consistently. As online platforms update regularly there will be new types of unfair activities which become difficult to keep up with. Counterfeiters further explore the creation/inventions of creators which complicates Furthermore, every online platform has different terms and rules which leads to inconsistent protection and enforcement.

These challenges make a situation which would seem difficult to protect IP on online platforms which paves the way to reduce in protection of IP in the system.

IPR In Indian Laws And Policies
IPR is enforced in India through different regulations related to patents, copyrights, and trademarks. It applies to physical businesses as well as to e-commerce businesses, where all the selling and buying activities are performed legally.

These are regulations that are statutory under the Patents Act, Copyrights Act, Trademark Act, Industrial Design Act, and trade secrets that are protected under contract laws.

The IPR laws start from various sectors to the e-commerce sector. This way, online businesses also remain protected under the law, which in turn helps uphold the legal standards of the online marketplace.[6]

To avoid violations and infringement of one's IP rights, it would be advisable to consult IPR professional firms, particularly those found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with the view of safeguarding intellectual property while avoiding violations. With India having a good reputation for maintaining firm business regulations, appropriate consultation will lead to the growth of a successful business while adhering to IPR.

Trademark Infringement
A trademark is a definite symbol that helps one identify that a specific product comes from a particular source.

Let's assume that you bought a commodity (product) from a store, thinking it would be like the big brands or from a well-known business. However, when you used the product, you discovered that it was substandard, meaning it did not have the quality you expected. This could be a loss for both you and the store. The interests of both you and the trader are protected when there is a definite symbol representing the product's original source, ensuring that you won't be confused next time. This definite symbol is called a trademark.

For example: "Dairy Milk" is a trademark, the "Nike" name and the "Swoosh" logo are both trademarks, and the Apple name and the iconic Apple logo with a bite taken out of it are trademarks representing the company's electronic products.[7]

By fostering trust and brand recognition, a trademark serves as a marketing tool that raises a company's financial worth.

Brands and trademarks are not the same thing, despite what many people believe. A trademark is more comprehensive than a brand name, which can be a symbol or logo that represents a company. It includes distinctive indicators, signs, or symbols that companies use to identify their goods and services. Slogans, symbols, and other elements are also considered trademarks, and they are all protected by law.
Remember that not all trademarks are brand names, but all brand names are trademarks.

A trademark is a property right, a visual representation attached to goods for the purpose of indicating their trade origin.

Section 2 (1)(m) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 defines "mark," and section 2 (1)(zb) defines "trademark."

Trademark infringement occurs when third-party businesses sell products or services using a mark identical to or similar to the marks registered with a trademark without authorization from its owner. For e-commerce marketplace companies, attempting to halt sales of counterfeit goods on their websites bearing famous trademarks proves difficult. This will be dependent upon the marketplace platforms having adequate mechanisms that can identify and remove listings infringing on intellectual property.[8]

Tiffany v. eBay (2010)

• Facts:
  • Leading jeweler Tiffany (NJ) Inc. filed suit in a New York federal district court accusing eBay, Inc. of trademark infringement.
  • The lawsuit alleged that eBay failed to take adequate steps to protect the sale of counterfeit Tiffany items on its site.
  • It is a lot like the way eBay connected third-party sellers and buyers without actually getting involved in holding on to those goods.
• Issue:
  • One of the biggest remaining questions is whether eBay can be held contributorily liable for allowing counterfeit Tiffany products to sell on its site.
• Parties' Arguments:
  • Tiffany (NJ) Inc.: Argued that eBay knowingly permitted the sale of counterfeit Tiffany goods, thereby violating their trademark rights.
  • eBay Inc.: It argued that it could not be liable because it had no control over the copies sold by third-party sellers and because it acted reasonably to police such problems.
• Judgement:
  • The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of eBay.
  • The court held that eBay could not be vindicated as vicariously liable for the purported solicitation of counterfeit products and that it had done enough to protect against trademark infringement.
  • The court stressed that eBay quickly took down listings after being alerted to possible fake goods.
     

Christian Louboutin v. Amazon (2021)

• Facts:
  • In 2007, the well-known luxury shoe company Christian Louboutin, which is renowned for its red soles, sued Amazon.
  • According to Louboutin, Amazon permitted the sale of fake red-soled shoes on its marketplace.
  • The case, which focused on Amazon's function as an online marketplace for third-party sellers, was brought before courts in Belgium and Luxembourg.
• Issue:
  • Whether Amazon broke trademark laws by failing to take prompt action against listings of fake goods on its marketplace.
• Parties' Arguments:
  • Christian Louboutin: Contended that Amazon violated trademark laws and harmed Louboutin's reputation by failing to take appropriate action to stop the sale of fake goods.
  • Amazon: Argued that it took appropriate action to resolve such issues and that it was not directly liable for the fake goods offered by independent sellers on its marketplace.
• Evaluation:
  • Louboutin won the case at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
  • The court determined that by failing to take prompt action in response to listings for fake goods, Amazon had broken trademark laws.
  • The case made clear how crucial it is for e-commerce sites to monitor trademark infringement in order to safeguard trademark owners' rights.

Copyright Infringement
It is a unique kind of IPR. The right that a person acquires in a work, which is the result of their intellectual labour, is called copyright.[10]

The primary function of copyright is to protect the result of a man's work, labour, skill or test which is taken away by other people. Copyright gives benefits to the creator to control how their work can be used, like who can copy or use it. Its purpose is to benefit the creator from their work and prohibit others from using the work without permission.

When someone creates something using their intellect or creativity - such as music, painting, content, film etc the person who creates that will automatically gain right over that work which is called copyright.
Section 4 of the Copyrights Act, of 1957 defines copyright

• Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.
• Facts:
• A 29-second video of Stephanie Lenz's young child dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy"—a song that Universal Music Corp. had copyrighted—was uploaded to YouTube.
• YouTube received a takedown notice from Universal Music Corp., which said the video violated their copyright.
• Lenz filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Corp. for misrepresentation under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), arguing that the takedown notice was issued without considering fair use.
• Issue: Whether Universal Music Corporation had to consider fair use before issuing a takedown notice under the DMCA.
• Parties' Arguments:
• Stephanie Lenz: Contended that the DMCA's requirement of fair use was not taken into account when Universal Music Corp. issued its takedown notice.
• Universal Music Corp.: Argued that fair use was not applicable in this instance and that they had a good faith belief that the video violated their copyright.
• Judgment:
• Lenz won the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals.
• The court ruled that before issuing takedown notices, copyright holders must take into account individuals' rights to fair use.
• The case made clear how important it is to preserve copyright while striking a balance between the rights of users and content creators.
   
• Google v. Perfect 10 (2007)
• Facts:
• Google, Inc. was sued for copyright infringement by Perfect 10, Inc., a publisher of adult magazines, over its picture search function.
• Perfect 10 asserted that Google had infringed upon its exclusive rights to display and distribute its copyrighted photographs by using thumbnail images of those images in search results.
• Issue: Whether Google's use of thumbnail images of Perfect 10's copyrighted photographs in its search results constituted copyright infringement or fair use.
• Parties' Arguments:
• Perfect 10: Argued that Google's use of thumbnail images infringed on its copyrights and that Google was also liable for contributory copyright infringement by linking to third-party websites displaying full-size infringing images.
• Google: Contended that its use of thumbnail images was protected under the fair use doctrine and that it was not liable for contributory infringement.
   
• Patent Infringement
• The term "patent" has its origin in the term 'letters patent.'
• Letters patent: Means open letters distinguished from closed letters.
• Section 2(m) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970: Defines a patent as "a patent which is granted for any invention under the provisions of this Act."
• However, this definition does not fully explain the meaning of a patent. It grants a special right to property or authority by the government or sovereign of a country to one or more individuals.
• This document or instrument through which a grant is made is called a patent.
• The main purpose of a patent is the protection of one's own invention from competitors in the market by preventing them from selling, using, and distributing the invention made by the original person, i.e., the patent holder.
• The right given to the person is called a patent holder. This special right gives patent holders exclusive rights to make, use, sell, and distribute an invention or creation for a specific time of 20 years.
   
• Soverain Software v. Newegg (2013)
• Facts:
• Online retailer Newegg, Inc. was sued by Soverain Software, LLC for patent infringement pertaining to online shopping cart technology.
• The software application Transact was developed by Open Market, whose patents Soverain acquired in 1996.
• Newegg was one of several online retailers that Soverain sued, claiming that their systems infringed on their patents.
• Issue: Whether Soverain's patents were violated by Newegg's online shopping platform and the validity of Soverain's patent assertions.
• Parties' Arguments:
• Soverain Software: Contended that Newegg's system violated their patents on online shopping cart and e-commerce technologies.
• Newegg: Argued that the patents were invalid due to their excessive breadth and that their system did not violate Soverain's patents.

Conclusion
In conclusion, e-commerce platform IPR infringement is a serious problem that necessitates legal action. E-commerce websites are legally able to file a civil lawsuit against violators in order to get injunctions, damages, and account suspensions. Additional remedies include coordinating with customs officials, helping law enforcement, and resolving domain name disputes.

To choose the appropriate court and jurisdiction, a number of factors must be considered, including territorial and subject matter jurisdiction, forum selection, and any applicable forum selection provisions. Having legal counsel is crucial for navigating the specific laws and precedents. Intellectual property rights must be protected in order to maintain the integrity of e-commerce platforms and the rights of intellectual property owners.

End Notes:

1. WIPO, available at https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ last visited on August 28, 2024
2. Types of intellectual property in India, available at https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7045cf52-4a2c-465f-980b-b5af034e2064 last visited on September 1, 2024
3. Different types of e-commerce business in India, available at https://blog.ipleaders.in/ecommerce-business/ last visited on September 6, 2024
4. How intellectual property relates to e-commerce, available at https://blog.ipleaders.in/intellectual-property-relates-to-e-commerce/ last visited on August 25, 2024
5. IP and e-commerce – 4 key challenges, available at https://ambadar.com/insights/trademark/ip-and-e-commerce-four-key-challenges/ last visited on September 13, 2024
6. Synergy between IPR and e-commerce platforms, available at https://www.iiprd.com/synergy-between-ipr-and-e-commerce-platforms/ last visited on September 15, 2024
7. What is a trademark, available at https://blog.ipleaders.in/what-is-a-trademark/ last visited on September 5, 2024
8. Infringement on intellectual property rights of e-commerce platforms, available at https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-12152-infringement-of-intellectual-property-rights-ipr-of-e-commerce-platforms.html last visited on September 30, 2024
9. Tiffany trademark appeal: Tiffany v. eBay available at https://blog.ipleaders.in/tiffany-trademark-appeal-tiffany-v-ebay/ last visited on October 10, 2024
10. Types of intellectual property in India, available at https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7045cf52-4a2c-465f-980b-b5af034e2064 last visited on September 1, 2024
11. 'Dancing Baby' Wins Copyright Case, available at https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/14/440363919/dancing-baby-wins-copyright-case last visited on October 9, 2024
12. Perfect 10 v. Google, available at https://www.eff.org/cases/perfect-10-v-google last visited on October 9, 2024
13. Types of intellectual property in India, available at https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7045cf52-4a2c-465f-980b-b5af034e2064 last visited on September 1, 2024
14. Sovereign Software v. Newegg, available at https://casetext.com/analysis/soverain-software-v-newegg-1 last visited on October 8, 2024

Written By: K Tejasree