Strengthening Brand Intellectual Property Protection: Temu Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency

【Ebrun Original】On July 7th, Temu announced that it has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA). The two parties will collaborate on intellectual property (IP) protection for Korean domestic brand sellers on the platform. This move aims to address the increasingly prominent IP protection needs of Korean brands as they accelerate their global expansion through e-commerce channels.

According to the cooperation arrangement, Temu and KOIPA will establish a dedicated communication channel to facilitate rapid response and enforcement regarding infringement issues involving Korean domestic sellers.

In terms of specific division of labor, Temu will utilize its proprietary detection technology and global team of expert reviewers to identify and remove product listings suspected of infringement. KOIPA will be responsible for verifying the authenticity and ownership of intellectual property for Korean brand products, providing support for relevant enforcement actions.

Simultaneously, as a supporting organization of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, KOIPA will also guide Korean enterprises in using the IP protection tools provided by Temu.

Regarding this cooperation, KOIPA stated that this agreement marks the starting point for practical cooperation to block counterfeit goods of Korean brands. KOIPA will take action against counterfeit Korean brand products on online platforms both domestically and internationally through collaboration with Temu and provide support for cross-market intellectual property protection.

Temu, on its part, disclosed some operational details of its platform enforcement system.

This system embeds IP risk screening into all stages, including seller vetting, pre-listing checks, and 24/7 monitoring after products are published. The proactive monitoring database covers over 15,000 brands, continuously comparing against a database of more than 47 million images and 9.5 million keywords. In terms of handling IP compliance issues, the platform's average resolution time is less than 24 hours.

A Temu spokesperson stated that protecting intellectual property is crucial for building a marketplace trusted by consumers and brands. The cooperation with KOIPA reflects the platform's ongoing commitment to IP protection and its determination to work with rights holders and regulators to prevent counterfeit goods from entering the platform.

The signed MoU builds upon Temu's existing protection system.

In April 2024, Temu launched its "Brand Shield Program," providing brands with protection tools, access to the platform's enforcement system, and one-on-one support, services which are available even if the brand does not sell on Temu. Additionally, Temu offers comprehensive IP compliance courses through its Seller Education Center.

On the consumer side, Temu has rolled out a "Global Consumer Proactive Awareness" feature in all its operational markets.

When users search for terms related to counterfeiting, such as "fake," "counterfeit," or "knock-off," the search results will display as empty, and an educational message will pop up to discourage the purchase of counterfeit goods. As of May 2026, this feature has cumulatively blocked over 200 million searches related to counterfeit keywords globally, providing real-time guidance to consumers at the search stage.

Ebrun will continue to track and report on this development. To learn more information related to this article, please scan the QR code to follow the author's WeChat.