ABSTRACT
As digital commerce increasingly dominates the retail landscape, brands must expand beyond their domestic markets to remain competitive. For a Poland-based fashion brand, the EU's single market offers an immediate opportunity for expansion due to harmonised intellectual property (IP) laws. However, extending operations beyond the European Union (EU) introduces new complexities, as different jurisdictions present varying legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms for IP. The research problem addressed in this chapter is the identification and analysis of the IP issues related to the internationalisation of e-commerce platforms for fashion brands, focusing on trademarks, design rights, copyright, patents, and anti-counterfeiting measures. Emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and especially artificial intelligence (AI), are also considered as they present new opportunities and challenges for IP protection in the digital landscape. The integration of these technologies can streamline supply chain management, enhance brand authentication, and improve anti-counterfeiting measures. Despite the availability of international IP protection mechanisms, such as the Madrid Protocol for trademarks and the Hague Agreement for designs, brands must navigate a complex and often fragmented global IP landscape. This chapter examines how a Poland-based fashion brand can strategically manage these IP challenges during its internationalisation and digitalisation process.
