‘Rosmar’ seals deal to battle fake goods

Known vlogger, influencer, and owner of beauty products Rosemarie “Rosmar” Tan has joined the quest to eradicate the proliferation of fake goods after signing the E-Commerce memorandum of understanding (MoU) to combat counterfeiting and help protect consumers from the health risks of consuming fake beauty products.

Rosmar Skin Essentials CEO Tan signed the MoU on 15 October 2024 accompanied by one of her intellectual property and brand management lawyers.

Facilitated by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the MoU serves as an avenue for signatories to closely collaborate and directly notify platform members of possible IP violations, allowing a more efficient takedown of online posts selling counterfeit products or pirated content.

According to IPOPHL Deputy Director General Nathaniel Arevalo, the addition of an entrepreneur and social media influencer like Tan to the E-Commerce MoU shows the inclusiveness of the collaboration, welcoming any rights holders who’ve fallen prey to counterfeiting.

Diverse backgrounds

“With a social media influencer, the pool of E-Commerce MoU signatories is made more diverse and inclusive to show that any entrepreneur can suffer from the consequences of counterfeiting,” Arevalo said.

 Despite the tough competition of businesses online, Tan said: “The battle is not really amongst brand owners because our real enemies here are the counterfeiters,” noting how counterfeit destroys the reputation of legitimate brands and puts consumers at risk.

Further, the social media influencer and entrepreneur lamented receiving regular complaints from buyers who claim to have suffered from rashes and worsened acne after using counterfeit Rosmar Skin Essentials products, more particularly her Kagayaku soap, which is one of the store’s top-selling products.

She also shared how widespread counterfeiting is in online marketplaces and how these illegal traders could easily drive legitimate IP rights out of the competition.

“Counterfeiters make more profit because they sell at a lower price,” Tan lamented, sharing that one unauthorized seller alone claimed to make P150 million for selling a range of products under the Rosmar Skin Essentials brand.