Recently, there has been quite a bit of buzz in the reselling community surrounding Brand Rights Protection. Many larger reselling accounts on Facebook and Instagram are being disabled or deactivated due to infringement. Prior to this happening, I personally didn’t have much knowledge on this topic or was aware that this was occurring. Today, I wanted to compile all of the information that resellers need to know when it comes to Brand Rights Protection.
What is Brand Rights Protection?
When it comes to discussing Brand Rights Protection in this post, I will be referring to it when it comes to Facebook/Instagram. According to Facebook, this is a desktop style program that allows brands to search for Facebook and Instagram content that misuses intellectual property, report accounts that violate policies, use reports and metrics to track takedown requests, and add reference images to help find potentially infringing content. This is a program that brands need to apply for access to use and can at any point report content using a report form.
What Can Brands Report to Facebook/Instagram?
According to Facebook, any and all Facebook and/or Instagram accounts, ads, profiles, and groups that may have violated policies can be reported to Facebook for review. A team at Facebook will then have 1 day to review the material. If the case is approved, then repeated infringers can have their accounts disabled or even deleted.
What Are Brands Searching For?
Facebook has revealed that brands can search for content using: (1) specific or broad keywords, (2) exact phrases, (3) URL links, (4) ID’s, and (5) images. Of these, the easiest one for brands to use when searching for infringers is imaging; Brands can upload images into the system and then it will automatically detect when a match is made to the image. This is also similar to how many listings on Poshmark are removed for violating copyright and infringement laws.
What to Do as a Reseller
As a reseller, this topic can be quite intimidating and scary as many of us use our social media accounts to showcase thrifted finds and merchandise for sale. It is clear through what I have witnessed on social media over the past few weeks and firsthand that this is not going away anytime soon. Instead of being fearful, I find it best to be educated and informed of what these policies are and how to follow them on social media.
A few steps that we can take as resellers are: (1) Do not use stock photos from a brand on social media as many of these images are probably stored in the Brand Rights Protection database, (2) Do not post images of brand tags or logos as these may also be stored in the Brand Rights Protection database, and (3) Do not use a brand’s name in captions (including hashtags, texts, or tags) as many brands will use their name in keyword and exact phrase searches.
To avoid putting yourself in a risky situation on social media, when discussing sourcing it might be best to approach it in a broad, general manner. Additionally, resellers can focus on entertainment, education, and lifestyle on their social media profiles.
I hope that you find this post helpful! If you have any questions or just want to chat, please reach out!
If you are interested in learning more about this topic on Facebook, please visit THIS post.
If you don’t already, be sure to check out my Instagram for more Reselling Tips at @ RecycledRosesGuide (Click HERE) and my Facebook page HERE.
You can instantly shop all of my looks by following me on the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app HERE.
To get email notifications for my next blog post and to receive my monthly Reseller Recap (with freebies), sign up for my emails below:
Baci,
