Podcast – The grey market: how your brand could end up competing against itself

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Podcast – The grey market: how your brand could end up competing against itself

Sponsored by

Zacco_360 IP_RGB.jpg
1200x627@4x new.png

Managing IP sat down with Patrik Lindahl of Zacco and Alessandra Vercelloni of OpSec to learn about the often-overlooked threat to brands posed by the grey market and parallel imports

Learn about the challenges of the grey market and parallel imports in a podcast that dives deep into an issue that can have significant consequences for brands.

Joining Phil Myers, Managing IP's commercial editor, to offer their insights on the subject are Patrik Lindahl, a partner at Zacco, the international full-service intellectual property solutions and brand protection specialist, and Alessandra Vercelloni, the director of sales and brand protection for Southern Europe at OpSec, the online protection and product authentication company.

Together, they break down the grey market, through which legitimate products are sold outside authorised channels. This threatens brand reputation, pricing strategies, and customer trust. The guest speakers discuss the complexities of grey market imports, including how unauthorised sales can erode brand value, strain distributor relationships, and confuse consumers with warranty and compliance issues.

They also offer practical advice on detecting and mitigating these risks, such as tracking technologies, online monitoring tools, and legal strategies such as vertical agreements.

Is your brand at risk of grey market competition? Do you know how to respond to the threat? Listen to this podcast to learn more about the grey market and its potential impact on your brand.

Other resources on brand protection

The following Zacco podcasts are also available:

You can find all the Managing IP podcasts here.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Nick Redfearn and Khanh Nguyen of Rouse discuss Vietnam’s latest identification in the 2026 Special 301 Report and how the country is taking genuine steps to meet US expectations
Tatiana Campello reflects on 30 years of practising at the firm, and urges women IP attorneys to think beyond the day-to-day
A David v Goliath battle involving TikTok, and Via Licensing Alliance adding new members to its Voice Codec patent pool, were also among the top talking points
Latham & Watkins bolstered its IP litigation bench in California with the addition of Kieran Kieckhefer, as partner demand for trial-ready expertise shows no sign of slowing
With the launch of a new patent eligibility AI tool, Sterne Kessler is leading a growing movement of law firms taking AI development into their own hands
UPC cases are (very) gradually becoming more distributed across other local divisions outside Germany, which can only be good news for the pan-European forum
Clarification concerning jurisdictional reach and latest stats released by the court were also among the top talking points in recent weeks
Although unanimous decision by the top court clarifies several aspects of the honest concurrent use defence, practitioners say ambiguities remain
Tristan Sherliker says he hopes to solve an access to justice issue by making the automated court bundle tool free to use
The team, comprising two partners and one senior consultant, plans to offer “highly differentiated” services to clients
Gift this article