[Green Economic Daily = Jain Rhyu]  Consumers are increasingly tricked by the skyrocketing business of selling knockoff luxury goods and popular brands on livestreams through Youtube, Tiktok and Instagram. These dupes of luxury bags, accessories, and clothing are being sold live on TV, while enforcement efforts are lagging, leading to growing market confusion. MarqVision, an AI-based counterfeit goods detection startup, is gaining attention as a potential solution for the industry.

 

■ Livestreams Feature Increasing Amount of Dupe Sellers

 

A seller was found on a recent YouTube live broadcast comparing prices for genuine and ‘mirror-quality’ dupes. "Genuine goods are 360,000 won, mirror-quality dupes are 280,000 won," the seller said, explaining that the dupes are produced in said brand’s own factory and sold at wholesale prices in China. The seller also promised customs clearance within a week.

 

When a viewer commented that they will “report this as a counterfeit," the seller immediately blocked the viewer and continued to advertise for the dupes. As can be seen in this example, sellers openly advertise that they trade in dupes and use livestreams to directly sell their counterfeit merchandise.

 

■ Recent Crackdowns and Detection Trends Show a Growing Number of Dupes

 

Korean crackdown statistics show a worrying trend. According to the Trademark Police of the Ministry of Intellectual Property, the value of counterfeit goods detected from January to August this year alone reached 411.6 billion won, based on the price of their genuine counterparts; this is roughly a 31-fold increase compared to the 13.4 billion won detected in the previous year.

 

In Busan, in particular, a seller distributing 340 billion won worth of counterfeit luxury goods through social media was caught. It is believed that this seller was one of the biggest distributers of dupes in the country.

 

According to data from the office of Jeong Jin-wook, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, only one or two people were indicted for selling counterfeit goods on social media and livestreams between 2021 and 2024. However, as of August of this year, 13 people were indicted on YouTube alone, reaching double digits for the first time.

 

Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police also referred nine sellers of counterfeit goods through livestreams to the prosecution, seizing a total of 4,520 items worth 7.2 billion won, based on the price of their genuine counterparts.

 

■ Foreign Platforms act as a Haven Away from Korean Regulations

 

Most dupes are sold through foreign platforms such as youtube, which function as a de facto lawless haven for the counterfeit market. Korean platforms have signed agreements with the government which then allows the government to crackdown on dupe sellers; however, recent cases of dupe sellers are concentrated on foreign platforms as they are free from such agreements, putting them in a regulatory blind spot. Experts point out that real-time monitoring and blocking systems utilizing AI technology are essential as the counterfeit market moves overseas.

 

■ MarqVision Offers AI Services to Catch Dupes in Real-time

 

MarqVision has introduced a solution that simultaneously analyzes images, text, and sales patterns to detect counterfeit products in real time on livestreams and social media, automatically requesting their removal from the platform. This technology is currently being used on over 30 global platforms, including those in North America and Europe, and detected over 45 million copyright infringements last year.

 

MarqVision recently closed a $48 million Series B funding round, bringing its total investment to over 120 billion won. The round was led by Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA), with new investors including HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China), Salesforce Ventures, Coral Capital, and Y Combinator Partner Emeritus Michael Seibel. Existing investors Y Combinator, Altos Ventures, Atinum Investment, and Smilegate Investment also made follow-on investments.

 

In particular, this newest investment, in which Peak XV and HSG participated simultaneously, has attracted cloase attention as this a case in which two independent investment firms affiliated with Sequoia Capital invested simultaneously in the same company, showing the high expectations of global investors for MarqVision's growth potential.

 

■ SJ Group Strengthens Brand Protection with Strategic Investment in MarqVision

 

Korean fashion company SJ Group recently made a strategic investment in MarqVision to protect its brand and secure market competitiveness. SJ Group, which owns brands such as Kangol and Henry Cotton's, stated the investment was driven by the need to secure AI technology to protect the value of genuine products.

 

■ Government and Experts Emphasize the Importance of Using AI In Crackdowns

 

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "The online distribution of counterfeit goods has recently been rapidly increasing, particularly on foreign platforms. We plan to expand AI-based automatic detection and customs clearance blocking technology across the industry." Choi Min-ho, a research fellow at the AI ​​Industry Policy Institute, also commented, "AI-based counterfeit goods crackdown technologies like MarqVision can directly contribute to restoring consumer trust and maintaining market order."

 

According to the OECD, the global counterfeit goods market is worth US 600 billion dollars (approximately 820 trillion won) annually, and the number of online counterfeit goods detected in Korea has nearly doubled in the past three years. Experts emphasize that preventing the distribution of counterfeit goods at the platform level without AI technology is virtually impossible, and the role of technology companies like MarqVision is becoming increasingly crucial.