From the ground at INTA, The Trademark Lawyer reports on the release of Tencent’s 2024 BPP report, revealing key findings alongside commentary from Head of Public Affairs and Global Policy, Danny Marti.

On May 19, 2025, Tencent, a leading global technology and entertainment company, released the 2024 Weixin Brand Protection Report during the INTA Annual Meeting in San Diego, US. With an attendance of over 10,000 IP professionals, INTA AM was the ideal platform to unveil the key statistical findings of this report, which clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to combating the counterfeiting of both digital and offline assets.

Most renowned for WeChat and Weixin, Tencent is a global leader in the tech and entertainment sector, with a portfolio that spans products and services from communication networks to entertainment platforms to enterprise solutions. Driving its development is the mission to harness “Values for Users” and “Technology for Good” with a commitment to address global challenges by connecting individuals, businesses, and communities worldwide.

Delivering content and services across TV, cinema, sports, music, and gaming, Tencent owns and collaborates with many of the world’s leading global brands, making the protection of brands and goods a paramount concern. Tencent’s report highlights its understanding of the role of IP for enterprises and innovation. The report revealed the significant actions taken against infringing activity, including the shutdown of over 120,000 live-streaming rooms and the removal of more than 22,000 infringing short videos in 2024. And this is just a flavor of the brand protection work being carried out; more on that to come.

The Report

Weixin is a comprehensive social communication platform that facilitates both private interactions and public discourse through features including messaging, group chats, and short videos. Prominent brands utilize Weixin to enhance consumer engagement in China and to create meaningful experiences that resonate with their audiences. The platform prioritizes IP protection through an innovative and collaborative approach, including the Brand Protection Platform (BPP) that enables brand owners to respond to user-reported infringements within private communications.

The Weixin Brand Protection Report is an annual report detailing the brand protection initiatives implemented by Weixin, compiling important statistical data collected from the platform’s portfolio of products and services.

In 2024, the platform launched improved reporting tools and a user awareness campaign, resulting in a 20% increase in offline enforcement cases and a total case value reaching $ 300 million, highlighting the effectiveness of its brand protection efforts.

Key findings

In addition to the offline enforcement aforementioned, which encompassed over 30 brands across more than 20 industries, the report also highlighted that a staggering 98% of all “takedown” notices on personal accounts and 99.9% of all “takedown” notices in group chats were crowdsourced user reports. This is a huge breakthrough for two fundamental reasons: first, it streamlines the process of identifying infringement in real-time directly from the consumer at no cost to the brand; and second, it is evidence of an increased consumer preference and support for genuine products and services to the extent of actively reporting infringement. Consumer behavior holds significant power when it comes to counterfeits, as without the market for them, their success is jeopardized.

The enhanced reporting tools have resulted in three times more proactive enforcement than reactive actions in 2024.

Expert commentary

During the Conference, our Editor-in-Chief, Faye Waterford, sat down with Danny Marti, Head of Public Affairs and Global Policy, to discuss the release of the report. Danny reiterated that “the report signifies our commitment to protecting the interests of brands on Weixin and our ability to mobilize user communities through new features that build trust and help tackle counterfeiting.”

He continued, “Brands have been ecstatic about the new report features, which deliver crowdsourced infringement reports directly to the brand’s inbox. This crowdsource reporting feature is very exciting; I’ve worked in brand protection for a long time, and brands have always told me they cannot fight counterfeiting alone. This feature is a breakthrough way to identify infringement in real-time while strengthening the relationship between brand and consumer.”

Strategic implications for IP professionals

What the report demonstrates is the potential power available to combat infringement by leveraging consumers. Brand owners should consider collaborating closely with IP professionals to educate consumers about the damaging consequences of counterfeits, as well as provide guidance on identifying fake goods and services.

Weixin has done just that with the “Anti-Counterfeiting Classroom,” an online platform dedicated to educating consumers on methods for identifying fake goods and trusted brands. Leveraging takedowns via consumers opens the door to a streamlined and efficient identification process while also enforcing the mindset in favor of genuine goods.

A further aspect to consider is the continued disruption of the entertainment industry by gaming; IP management is fundamental for handling this intersection. As globally renowned movies, books, and television shows inspire new gaming releases, IP professionals must be vigilant in considering trademark and brand protection across jurisdictions and dimensions. “Trademarking is not stagnant, particularly with the video game industry, which can incorporate and apply to many scenarios and use cases, such as cinema, music, streaming and live events, and merchandising. This crossover and intersection of technologies requires vigilance from both a protection and enforcement standpoint,” explained Danny.

He also expressed the complexities of using logos and brand products in games, noting that some companies are comfortable with the assets being distorted, while others are very particular about their use and representation. These are all aspects IP professionals need to consider, especially as the boundaries continue to blur with technological advancement.

A brand protection pioneer

IP is at the core of Tencent. Ranked in 2024 as the 10th most valued brand by Kantar, with WeChat as the world’s strongest brand according to BrandFinance, and coming in second for top global innovators in Clarivate’s latest report, it is clear that IP is the foundation of this brand. With a staggering 120 million+ paid music subscribers via Tencent Music Media, 110+ million paid Tencent Video subscribers, and over 800 million active users on Tencent Games, the traction of this brand is undeniable. But perhaps most impressive of all is their approach to protecting and enforcing IP within their platforms, both for their own brands and those with which they collaborate.

The Weixin Brand Protection Platform is an IP rights enforcement portal; brands are provided with user-generated, crowdsourced leads for suspected counterfeiting activity across the functionality of the platform. The platform offers traceable reporting, with enforcement actions and automated data reports tailored to their inquiry. A keyword database assists in blocking counterfeit-related content from public feature registrations and advertisements, and live streams and product listings are screened for infringement. Law enforcement support in offline investigations and criminal cases is also a priority for Weixin, indicated by the 20% increase in offline enforcement and a 15% increase in total case value for offline enforcement from 2023.

This commitment, transparency, and collaboration positions Tencent as a pioneer in brand protection.

To view the full 2024 Weixin Brand Protection Platform Report, please click here. 

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