📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Major Brand Ads on Pirate Sites Surged 80% in a Year, EUIPO Finds
https://torrentfreak.com/major-brand-ads-on-pirate-sites-surged-80-in-a-year-euipo-finds/
Brands, you might want to check your ad placement. Seriously.
The EU Intellectual Property Office just released a report that should give every CMO a cold sweat: major brand ads on pirate sites surged by 80% in a single year. We’re talking about recognizable global names, not sketchy drop-shippers. In 2021, big brands made up just 3% of ad impressions on these sites. By 2025, that share skyrocketed to 36%. On the worst offenders—sites already legally flagged as illegal—major brands now dominate nearly 60% of ad space.
So, what happened? The report points a finger at the collapse of industry policing. Coordinated outreach programs designed to educate brands about where their ads were showing up seem to have fizzled out around 2023. Without that gentle nudge, brands were left flying blind while their logos appeared next to pirated movies and software.
The financial stakes are real, too. Pirate sites generated an estimated €382 million in ad revenue last year. While ad-blocking lists exist, they’re failing to catch the biggest players, with some Chinese brands accounting for nearly all the major brand impressions on blocked domains. It’s a clear sign that voluntary industry efforts aren’t enough anymore. If you want to protect your brand’s reputation, it’s time to get serious about enforcement.