The most important takeaway that Amazon wants brands and consumers to know about its anti-counterfeiting measures is that its approach is working — and never just incrementally. In line with the e-tail giant’s latest brand protection report released on Tuesday, its copycat-busting moves have led to the removal of 6 million fakes from its marketplace and stopped tons of of 1000’s of illicit activities.

Amazon’s tactical approach to combatting counterfeits has been years within the making, as a mix of name and consumer reporting, seller vetting, mandated removals and legal enforcement actions. However the tech giant’s expertise in artificial intelligence appears to be amping up the efficacy, perhaps to such a level that it might even discourage malevolent parties from even trying.

“The variety of bad actor attempts to create latest selling accounts decreased from 6 million attempts in 2020 to 2.5 million attempts in 2021, to 800,000 in 2022,” the report revealed.

What’s particularly impressive is that the variety of products pulsing through the marketplace is continuous to grow while the variety of infringement notices last yr dropped by greater than 35 percent over 2021, Anna Dalla Val, Amazon’s director of worldwide brand relations, told WWD.

Like data science and automation applied in other elements of business, AI has the flexibility to scale efficiencies and create dramatic ends in the fight against fakes.

“Machine-learning technologies really is our first layer of defense to detect counterfeit goods and likewise the bad actors attempting to sell them,” Dalla Val said. “It continues to enhance based on information that brands share with us. It learns to discover trademarks, logos and patterns.”

Amazon’s strategy is to push the work up front in a preventive way, she explained, as an alternative of the “whack-a-mole” situation that describes most anti-counterfeiting measures. “We scan the shop consistently,” she added. “We scan 8 billion attempted changes to update the listings day by day, before they go live to our customers — you recognize, before anybody even sees them.”

Naturally, the trouble suits neatly into the AI trend that has been dominating the news cycle currently. That’s all well and good, but Dalla Val also identified that bad actors even have access to those tools as well. That’s why staying a step ahead of them matters.

She emphasized that one crucial way Amazon does that’s to depend on its brand relationships and communication with partners, in addition to authorities like U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“[Our blueprint] focuses on ensuring that there will not be just motion, but an exchange of data about counterfeit activity at different points throughout the process,” she continued. “I feel [there’s] a number of great data, and the way we exchange that data, in what time, goes to turn into what matters.”

She explained that the CBP provides information to Amazon, so it could attempt to stop counterfeit goods destined for its achievement network before they arrive. That’s not only within the U.S. — the corporate also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s customs authority.

In other words, fighting counterfeits relies as much on partners and cooperation because the tech, and that’s not going to vary. If bad actors do make it through, then Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit won’t pull any legal punches. Last yr, the division sued or referred for investigation greater than 1,300 criminals across the U.S., the U.K., European Union and China.

These are notable talking points, as Amazon tries to court more fashion designers. Quite a few luxury brands have been reluctant to affix the platform resulting from concerns about counterfeit products.

One case in Europe brought by Christian Louboutin, as an illustration, argued that the e-commerce company must be responsible, because it showed sponsored listings or ads touting knockoff shoes within the marketplace. Multibrand e-commerce sites often find yourself taking a hands-off approach to such scenarios, just like the best way social media platforms argue that they aren’t answerable for content pushed out by their users. But on each fronts, which may be poised to vary, as legislators take a harder view. Within the Louboutin case, a preliminary ruling in December agreed with the plaintiff.

Notably, Amazon’s latest report follows just a number of months later, so it advantages from touting the numbers, in addition to rallying a united, group effort to battle fake goods typically.

For Dalla Val and the Counterfeit Crimes Unit, the industry still has a protracted solution to go, she said, and eliminating bad practices one site doesn’t go far enough.

“The scope here will not be just to discourage and fight counterfeit on Amazon, but going up the availability chain, in order that these products don’t come back and aren’t sold some place else.”