Scout - How Create Successful Brand Protection Program

How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program

Introduction

Parallel Markets & “Pirateers”

The Need for Worldwide Brand Protection

Liabilities on the Web

Software: the Backbone of Today’s Brand Protection

Must-haves for Your Software

Intuitive Organization & Navigation

Make Your Protection Mobile

Summary

Table of Contents

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Introduction

The counterfeiter’s ill-gotten money is not only profit

lost to the brand maker, it’s also the overall image of

a brand and millions of jobs worldwide.

Unfortunately, that astronomical number is expected

to get higher with each successive year.

All the years and resources that go into building a

brand – development, public relations, marketing and

the additional expenses building the reputation of a

product – gets compromised by second-rate quality.

So, who can benefit from a brand protection program?

Anyone who feels like their brand, their employees

and their customers are worth protecting.

In nature, there is something known as mimicry,

whereby an organism copies characteristics of a

more successful organism in order to survive. But for

those who profit from stolen intellectual property and

second-rate goods, it’s simply a matter of easy money.

Given the ease and profitability of counterfeited goods,

there will always be those who are willing to gain from

the work and talent of brand makers.

$1.77 trillion.1 Thats the projected value

of global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in

2015 on the grey and black market, also known as

parallel markets.

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Parallel markets don’t play by the same rules as

legitimate ones, so your copyright won’t make a

difference there. Pirates who profiteer from coveted

brands, who we may call “pirateers,” are able to find a

brand’s customers, who often have no idea they are

buying a knockoff.

For example, in Europe’s fashion industry, “the

threat that counterfeiting poses to the industry’s

innovative output and the direct and indirect costs

to the EU economy,” according to the EU’s Office for

Harmonization in the Internal Market. Ten percent

of fashion-related goods are counterfeit, costing

legitimate brands $28.5 billion USD per year of profits.

While it’s difficult to assign a specific cost to individual

companies, luxury brands like Louis Vuitton are

extremely aggressive pursuing piracy because of the

extraordinary profits lost to counterfeiters.

Because the problem is so widespread, there is very

little chance the authorities will take care of this

problem for you. Brand makers have to take matters

into their own hands, and a successful brand

Counterfeit Products (koun-ter-fit, prod-uh kt)

That is, any goods or packaging that bear a trademark that is

virtually the same as one registered to an authorized trademark

owner. are one of the most significant global threats to brands and

those who hold intellectual property rights to them.2

protection program is the best way to go. But that’s

easier said than done.

Today, the absolute best way to bolster brand

protection is to use software to keep investigations

in order. It’s the single-best way to take back profits

stolen by pirateers.

[ [

10%of fashion-related goods are counterfeit,

costing legitimate brands

$28.5 Billion USD per year of profits.3

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The Need for Brand Protection Worldwide

Counterfeiting is a major economic problem with

many tentacles. Today, with increasingly connected

global markets and the dark channels of the Internet,

pirateers and their wares are extremely difficult to

track.

Brand protection software is the best way for

companies to do just that: track.

Generally speaking, the United States has a good basic

structure to combat counterfeiters. Any worthwhile,

innovative product will be copyrighted by those who’ve

worked to create a brand or product.

One e-commerce site alone -- Alibaba -- represents the

problem of stolen IP and second-rate goods flooding

the global market. When the site’s cofounder promised

to fight the problem, global brands collectively scoffed.4

Those who try to copy or get a close proximity to a

business’s colors, logo and product or service will

get shut down in North America and most of Europe.

But for other parts of the globe, this basic protective

measure isn’t in place. In many parts of the world,

stealing a brand’s winning formula or format is both

easy and rewarded with business.

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Liabilities on the Web

IN A WORLD FILLED WITH INTENTIONAL

AND ACCIDENTAL BRAND SABOTEURS,

COMPANIES NEED TO AGGRESSIVELY

PLAY DEFENSE AS WELL AS OFFENSE.7

Once upon a time, shoppers had to go to physical

locations to pick up goods like purses, watches and

other brand memorabilia. These days, however,

about 60 percent of retail purchases will

somehow be influenced by the internet5, partially

because of the prevalence of smartphone use.

However, as holiday purchases online get closer

to about half of all seasonal shopping6, it begs

the question: how many goods purchased online

will be counterfeit?

While it may be suspicious to an online customer to

see a jacket that normally costs $250 selling at $40,

most people are simply happy to find a good deal. The

prospective buyer may think the pricing behind the

jacket is based on it being used or wholesale.

But those rationalizations may not even come to mind

because the mentality of a shopper is often steeped

in want: to see something they like, and next to it an

exceedingly affordable price given the brand.

The downside of convenience shopping online is that

pictures are often misrepresentative.

Upon arrival to a customer’s home, the Louis Vuitton

handbag that looked so nice before has some things

that are off, such as:

• The trim that should be leather is not

• The stitching is imprecise when it should be

perfect

• Patterns do not match

• The color of the lining isn’t as rich

• And other sloppy craftsmanship

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Software: The Backbone of Today’s Brand Protection

Given the scope of counterfeiting, it may seem

impossible to fight. But businesses of all sizes can’t

afford to take a backseat to the problem. A robust

anti-counterfeiting and investigation program delivers

instant ROI in the sense that risk is immediately

mitigated. A company that gains the reputation for

being laxed on the matter risks increased attacks on

their brand.

Once accustomed to the benefits, it will be hard for you

to fathom how anyone could go about orchestrating

brand protection measures and fraud investigations

without software. In the 1980s, it would have been

much more difficult to manage brand protection via

piles of documents, folders, pictures, loose notes and

more.

That’s why business leaders relied primarily on their

company’s lawyers when a counterfeiter’s business

became noticeable. It was simply too difficult to

track and build a case on the hard-to-notice, smaller

counterfeiters.

But with the right software, it’s possible and

worthwhile for a company to pursue all levels of

counterfeiters. Ideally, the same software used

by insurance companies, law enforcement, fire

departments and banks to determine fraud in their

audits and investigations can be used by any company

to protect their intellectual property. -- That’s the mark

of a software brand protection managers should be

seeking.

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Must-haves for Your Software

So far, we’ve established that the conveniences of

investigative software for your company’s brand

protection program cannot be ignored. It should be

good enough for professional investigators to use

yet user-friendly and easy to navigate enough for

members of your team to navigate.

Here are some additional must-haves to put on your

checklist; software should be able to help you:

• Identify and investigate criminal activity and

trademark violations of your company’s brand

by orchestrating, staging and managing cases on

one platform

• Generate actionable leads with in-house

dedication for local law enforcement, private

investigation groups, customs agencies and

attorneys to handle counterfeit cases quickly and

efficiently

• Streamline communications with your entire team

regarding ongoing case work

• Provide actionable, tangible scope and results

to CEO, including money recovered and shutting

down counterfeit websites and facilities

• Develop educational communication strategies

across a global domain

• Track and research consumer confusion with

brand trademarks

These must-haves should be offered as a web-based,

collaborative portal in which employees, designated

vendors, suppliers, subcontractors and managers

tasked with protecting a brand can easily manage their

roles.


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Intuitive Organization & Navigation

If the integrity of your company’s distribution channel

has been compromised – if the parallel market has

gotten to your customer first, at least you know that

handling the situation has never been easier.

On a regular basis, you’ll likely have multiple people

filling important roles on the leads you’re managing --

some at the same time. Investigation software will help

you keep track of each person filling assorted roles for

each case. Helpful tools allow you to delegate and stay

abreast of specific tasks, making each person’s job that

much easier.

Some handy features include case lists with relevant

details, a news feed, assignment columns, a team

list, a history of actions by the team, calendars and a

place to put all files, pictures and more. Reports and

administrative features give the investigation leader

easy access to the status of cases.

Just thinkhow useful a customized brand protection

software could be to your business.


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Make Your Protection Mobile

There will likely be moments when you need your

anti-counterfeiting technology to be mobile. When

members of your team are at a street bazaar, flea

market or if they encounter counterfeit goods in other

countries, an app to connect with the main software

would be extremely helpful.

FākR™ is an app that does just that. It goes wherever

your team goes, as long as they take their smartphones.

Those who are registered in an investigation can

handily share pics of ripped-off property, contribute

to helpful details regarding suspected pirateers and

help investigators easily organize a case.

As a web-based portal that can be accessed anytime

and anywhere by members of the specified group,

FākR™ and affiliated anti-counterfeiting software

will help protect your brand on the street and

online, providing a centralized database to make

sense of all relevant data.

INTRODUCING™

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Summary

It’s clear that counterfeiters pose a major threat to

brands today. The more customers want your product,

the more likely it is that your intellectual property is

going to be stolen and badly reproduced with second-

rate quality. You don’t want to be another number

heaped upon the giant pile lost to today’s pirateers.

Utilizing brand protection best practices, which can be

found in a Brand Protection Software called Scout, will

help mitigate this problem. Scout and FākR™ put you

in the driver’s seat to better control how the world is

treating your hard-earned reputation.

In addition to all of the helpful features, our software

makes it easy for data importing as well as seamless

integration with your current digital information.

If you’re still worried about the transition, we are

always easy to contact and offer consultation anytime

you need it.

1 International Chamber of Commerce / BASCAP, Estimating the Global Economic and Social Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy www.iccwbo.org/Advocacy-

Codes-and-Rules/BASCAP/BASCAP-Research/Economic-impact/Global-Impacts-Study/

2 Jeremy M. Wilson, Ph.D., Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection, Michigan State University, A-CAPP Paper Series: Brand Protection 2020

Perspectives on the Issues Shaping the Global Risk and Response to Product Counterfeiting

3 European Union Intellectual Property Office, “The economic cost of IPR infringement in the clothing, footwear and accessories sector” https://euipo.europa.

eu/ohimportal/en/web/observatory/ip-infringements_clothing-accessories-footwear

4 The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2016 www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-under-fire-from-global-product-brands-over-counterfeits-1466005050

5 Forrester’s US Cross-Channel Retail Forecast, 2012 To 2017 https://www.forrester.com/Forrester+US+CrossChannel+Retail+Sales+To+Reach+18+Trillion

+By+2017/-/E-PRE6324

6 Prosper Insights and Analytics on behalf of the National Retail Federation (NRF) www.nrf.com/media/press-releases/retailers-very-digital-holiday-season-

according-nrf-survey

7 The Wall Street Journal, CFO Journal, Dec. 12, 2013 www.deloitte.wsj.com/cfo/2013/12/11/what-cfos-can-do-to-protect-brand-assets-2/

SOURCES

Visit us at:

www.scoutcms.com

877-772-6886

3310 Big Beaver Rd.

Suite 204

Troy, MI 48084

http://www.scoutcms.com

About ScoutScout is a product of Virtual Advantage, a privately held company founded in 2004, headquartered in Troy, MI. We provide investigative solutions through technology to some of the largest insurance providers, government entities, brand protection and anti-counterfeiting groups.

Our focus is on making our client’s investigations more effective and impactful via enterprise software and mobile applications. We help our clients with brand protection, anti-counterfeit IP infringement, trademark enforcement, insurance claims, incident reporting, regulatory compliance and whistleblower issues.

877-772-68863310 Big Beaver Rd.Suite 204Troy, MI 48084

www.scoutcms.com

http://www.scoutcms.com

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/scoutcms

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Scout - How Create Successful Brand Protection Program