Lithuanian legaltech EnforceShield secures €1.7M for automated IP enforcement

Legaltech startup EnforceShield has secured €1.7 million in seed funding to expand its platform for automating intellectual property enforcement. The investment round was spearheaded by Vendep Capital, with FIRSTPICK VC taking part. EnforceShield, founded in 2024 by attorney Rytis Rudzinskas, offers a SaaS platform that automates the detection and resolution of online intellectual property infringements.

These infringements include counterfeited products, unauthorized sellers, fake listings, cloned storefronts, impersonation sites, and phishing pages. EnforceShield's platform handles the enforcement process from cross-platform detection, legal analysis, validation, takedown execution, monitoring, and escalation. Unlike traditional methods that only identify potential infringements for legal teams to review, EnforceShield utilizes AI agents and built-in legal and platform-specific logic to not only identify infringements but also carry out enforcement actions.

This process involves evaluating factors such as a company's IP portfolio, available evidence, applicable laws, platform context, and enforcement criteria before initiating a takedown. EnforceShield employs a "human-at-the-end" model, where lawyers and analysts review outcomes and manage exceptions or more complex cases instead of manually processing routine infringements.

The company is catering to the increasing volume of online IP abuse, especially with the rise of generative AI that simplifies the creation of counterfeit listings, cloned websites, and other forms of infringement. Founder and CEO Rytis Rudzinskas highlighted that generative AI has significantly accelerated IP abuse while enforcement has been hampered by a heavy dependence on human teams.

Enterprises are seeking technology that can think like a lawyer and autonomously run through enforcement workflows. EnforceShield currently collaborates with over 20 enterprise customers and reports that its platform eliminates an average of over 33,500 IP violations each month across its e-commerce clientele. The funding will be allocated to bolster EnforceShield's technical and product capabilities, including extending AI agents to manage repeat offenders, escalations, and more intricate enforcement processes.

Additionally, the company intends to expand its commercial presence in the US and further integrate its platform into the entire IP lifecycle.