TikTok has teamed up with the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) longstanding Unreal campaign to raise consumer awareness about counterfeit products and the importance of intellectual property protection. First launched in May 2025, this year-long initiative will leverage TikTok’s platform to deliver educational content – from short-form videos to editorial articles – designed to help young shoppers recognize and avoid fake goods. INTA’s program, active across 181 countries, aims to inform audiences about trademarks, brand integrity, and counterfeit-associated dangers.
As TikTok expands its global in-app shopping experience, especially beyond live-streaming events, the platform is increasing its focus on trust and safety. To reinforce its commitment to brand protection, TikTok Shop’s IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) team conducted awareness and training activities for INTA members, including webinars on takedown protocols and IP management in the U.S., as well as regional seminars in Singapore and Vietnam emphasizing anti-counterfeit measures.
TikTok suggests that this partnership is one element of a broader brand protection strategy. From July to December 2024, the company removed over 450,000 listings for IPR violations. In addition, it has ramped up its internal enforcement efforts – publishing regular Safety and IPR reports, expanding takedown infrastructure, and educating creators through its TikTok Shop Academies and IPPC (Intellectual Property Protection Center).
Given TikTok’s uncertain poisition in the United States and the repeated insistences of it being a security threat, this kind of partnership might help to downplay that perception. Even if the ban in the U.S. does go through, this partnership will still have a net positive offect on cracking down on counterfits and scam sellers.
