Brand Protection: Service Definition

Overview

This document defines what LMC’s Brand Protection service contains, how we deliver it, what the client receives, and where its scope ends. It is the source of truth for sales conversations, contract drafting, and delivery scope.

Brand Protection is a two-track service. A client may engage one track, the other, or both:

• Track 1 - Counterfeit & Infringement Enforcement. We find and remove the counterfeits, unauthorized sellers, and gray imports already eroding your brand on Vietnam’s marketplaces.
• Track 2 - Distribution Governance. We rebuild the reseller contracts and governance system so the violations stop starting - the durable fix when the pricing erosion comes from your own distribution network.

Brand Protection is included in the Full-Stack Partnership bundle. It is a separately quoted a-la-carte service for every other client.

What it is

Brand Protection answers one question: “Our brand is selling on Vietnam’s marketplaces; how do we stop the counterfeits, gray imports, and underpriced resellers eroding our margin and premium positioning?”

It is the right service if:

• Counterfeit listings of your products appear on Shopee or TikTok Shop.
• Unauthorized resellers or gray-import goods are visible in the market.
• Your own authorized resellers are undercutting your price and leaking stock.
• Your brand is misused on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or Zalo seller channels.
• You hold a registered Vietnam trademark and need active platform-side enforcement.

What it is not

Brand Protection is the wrong service if:

• You do not hold a registered Vietnam trademark - register first (refer to a VN IP law firm), then engage us.
• You need legal action - litigation, cease-and-desist letters, customs seizures - those are referred to a VN IP law firm.
• You want your Shopee or TikTok Shop store run and your ads managed - that is Managed Marketplace Operations.

We are not a law firm. LMC files platform takedown requests, escalates via partner channels, documents violations, and architects distribution contracts. We do not issue cease-and-desist letters, file lawsuits, negotiate settlements, or draft and legally review contracts. When a case needs legal action, we refer to a VN IP law firm and can supply our enforcement documentation as supporting evidence.

Brand Protection is a continuous operation, not a project. Counterfeit sellers re-list under new accounts within days. Gray imports reappear seasonally. The only enforcement that holds is enforcement that runs every week.

Process

Track 1 - Counterfeit & Infringement Enforcement

The enforcement retainer runs as a structured weekly and monthly cycle.

1. Onboarding and brand asset registration (Week 1-2). We collect your brand documentation: trademark certificates, authorized reseller list, Manufacturer’s Advised Price list, product imagery, and authorized SKU catalog. We register your brand assets in LMC’s enforcement tracking system and confirm platform escalation contacts for each platform in scope.
2. Baseline Brand Audit (Week 2-3). A full sweep of each in-scope platform: every active infringing listing, every MAP violation instance, and any unauthorized use of your imagery or trademarks. You receive a written baseline report - severity-ranked findings by platform, with estimated volume exposure. For a retainer client this audit is the onboarding step; it can also be bought standalone (see Price).
3. Enforcement actions (ongoing). We file platform takedown requests for confirmed infringing listings and escalate via partner channels - our Shopee Partner and TikTok Shop Partner status - where available. We track takedown status, follow up on non-responsive cases, and log every action with outcome and date.
4. Weekly Enforcement Activity Feed. Each week we push a short, factual summary by email or Zalo: listings removed, gray imports flagged, MAP violations escalated. You see enforcement is active without needing a call.
5. Monthly Brand Health Report. A full monthly summary by the 5th of the following month: enforcement actions taken, platform-by-platform status, MAP compliance snapshot, trend versus the prior month, and Head of Department commentary.

The Takedown Pack is the one-off alternative to the retainer. You supply the infringing URLs; LMC verifies IP eligibility, files the takedowns, tracks status, and confirms outcomes. There is no monitoring - you bring the URLs - and one pack covers a single platform.

The Watch tier is monitoring-only: scanning and alerting with no active takedown filing. It keeps your brand assets registered and the net ready, and re-escalates to the full enforcement retainer when infringement resurges.

Track 2 - Distribution Governance

For a brand whose pricing is eroded by its own reseller network - MAP violations, channel leakage, and gray imports originating from authorized resellers. Track 2 fixes the source rather than chasing the symptoms.

1. Distribution model audit. We map your reseller network, channel structure, and pricing terms, and identify where MAP leakage and gray imports originate and where the current reseller contracts lack enforceable price discipline.
2. Reseller contract architecture. We design a carrot-and-stick MAP compliance structure: incentives for compliant resellers and a strike-and-penalty ladder for violators. LMC architects the commercial structure; your lawyer drafts and legally reviews the contract.
3. Rollout support. Your brand issues the restructured reseller agreements. LMC supports onboarding resellers onto the new terms.
4. Governance operations (ongoing). LMC operates compliance monitoring and the strike system: detect the violation, issue an internal warning, escalate, count strikes. At 3 strikes - the default, set per engagement - your brand may recall goods and revoke the reseller’s distribution rights.
5. Monthly Governance Report. Compliance status by reseller, strikes issued and resolved, disputes handled, and recommended actions.

Deliverables

Track 1

• Brand Audit report - written; a live-brand baseline infringement audit or a pre-launch exposure scan.
• Enforcement tracking log - the Odoo record of every action, date, platform, and outcome; available to the client on request.
• Weekly Enforcement Activity Feed - email or Zalo push, every week.
• Monthly Brand Health Report - delivered by the 5th of the following month.
• MAP compliance snapshot - included in the Monthly Brand Health Report.
• Platform takedown confirmations - documented in the enforcement log; copies on request.

Track 2

• Distribution model audit report - written; reseller network map, MAP leakage analysis, contract gap findings.
• Reseller contract architecture - the carrot-and-stick commercial structure, handed to the brand’s lawyer to draft.
• Strike system of record - the Odoo log of every reseller, violation, strike, and resolution.
• Monthly Governance Report - compliance by reseller, strikes, disputes, recommended actions.

Watch tier

• Monthly watch summary - scan results, with an alert and re-escalation recommendation if infringement resurges.

Price

Brand Protection has three Track 1 offerings on a commitment ladder, plus a standalone Brand Audit, plus a bespoke Track 2. There is no NMV commission - Brand Protection is a fixed-fee service.

Track 1 - Counterfeit & Infringement Enforcement

Takedown Pack (one-off, no retainer). For a brand with a small, defined takedown need.

• One pack covers up to 5 URL takedowns on one platform only. Cross-platform takedowns require one pack per platform.
• The client supplies the URLs. LMC verifies IP eligibility, files the takedowns, tracks status, and confirms outcomes. No monitoring is included.
• Prerequisite: the client holds a registered Vietnam trademark.

Enforcement retainer (per platform, commitment-tiered). Continuous monitoring and enforcement.

The shortest commitment is 3 months; there is no month-to-month option.

Multi-platform rule. The first platform is billed at the full tier rate; every additional platform is billed at the tier rate minus 15%.

Watch tier (monitoring-only). 5,000,000 VND per platform per month. Scanning and alerting only, with no active takedown filing.

Brand Audit. 30,000,000 VND, one-time per engagement - not per platform. It is the enforcement retainer’s onboarding fee, and it is FREE with a 12-month commitment. Also sold standalone at 30,000,000 VND to a brand not yet ready for a retainer.

Reactivation fee. 15,000,000 VND. A client who drops the retainer and later returns pays this to re-baseline and re-warm platform-partner channels.

Worked example - a fashion brand on an enforcement retainer covering Shopee and TikTok Shop:

Track 2 - Distribution Governance

Track 2 is consulting-heavy and bespoke; every brand’s distribution network differs in size and complexity.

All prices exclusive of VAT.

How it connects to the rest of LMC

Out of scope

• Legal representation and litigation. LMC is not a law firm. We do not issue cease-and-desist letters, file lawsuits, negotiate settlements, draft or legally review contracts, or appear before any authority. Those belong to the brand’s lawyer or a VN IP law firm.
• Guaranteed removal timelines. Platform response times vary and are outside LMC’s control. LMC commits to filing promptly and following up, not to a specific removal SLA. Typical platform response is 3-14 days; LMC documents delays and escalates via Shopee Partner and TikTok Shop Partner channels. No vendor can guarantee 100% removal.
• MAP enforcement by platform takedown. MAP has no Vietnam legal basis and platforms do not enforce it. Platform takedowns address counterfeits and IP infringement. The durable fix for reseller underpricing is Track 2.
• Counterfeit product procurement or testing. LMC does not purchase counterfeit products as evidence or conduct product testing.
• The brand must hold the legal hammer (Track 2). LMC operates the strike system and the internal dispute flow, but recalling goods and revoking distribution rights are the brand’s legal and commercial actions. Track 2 cannot manufacture authority the brand declines to exercise.
• Advertising and marketplace operations. Brand Protection does not include running the client’s Shopee or TikTok Shop store, managing ads, or driving sales. That is Managed Marketplace Operations.
• Monitoring is not part of the Takedown Pack. The Takedown Pack enforces only the URLs the client supplies, on a single platform per pack. Discovery and continuous enforcement are the retainer.
• Amazon and non-VN platforms. Out of scope and not a current capability.

How to engage

1. Book a 30-minute scoping call - free. We identify where your brand is being infringed today, on which platforms, and whether the issue is counterfeits (Track 1), your own reseller network (Track 2), or both. This is a scoping conversation, not the paid Brand Audit.
2. Receive scope of work and contract. For Track 1, we quote the offering and tier; for Track 2, a GM-approved SOW.
3. Onboarding. Track 1 begins with the Brand Audit - brand asset registration and the baseline sweep. Track 2 begins with the distribution model audit.
4. Delivery begins. Track 1 enforcement actions and the Weekly Enforcement Activity Feed start once the audit is complete; Track 2 moves into contract architecture, rollout, and governance operations.
5. Monthly reporting runs continuously for the contract duration - the Brand Health Report and, for Track 2, the Governance Report.