We thank all of the participants for contributing and sharing their expertise with us. Member companies are randomly chosen each month to participate as a way to connect and educate our member community. To view our previous member spotlights, click here.
AIT Enforcement doesn’t offer just secure state-of-the-art investigations in high and medium risk markets, we are -as our name indicates- strongly committed with leading law enforcement actions to disrupt the illicit supply chain of counterfeits and other illegal goods affecting small, medium, and large corporations and its consumers.
At AIT Enforcement, we deliver end to end solutions for every step of the illicit trade problem, we build intelligence and awareness, we deploy undercover investigations (even transnational), we directly support law enforcement agencies on the ground, and we lead the legal actions against the offenders after the raid or seizure.
What's the most rewarding part of your job / what is the thing that you've been most proud of in your anti-counterfeiting work?
Against all the odds (including the pandemic), exactly one year ago, me and my investigation team, were able to lead the mobilization of more than 100 authorities in Sinaloa State (Mexico), to take down a manufacturing site of illegal pesticides, pesticides with no sanitary registration that not only violated IP rights, but that were used for foods for local consumption and for export to the US.
That is the most rewarding part of our job, when we see that despite having other crimes with greater visibility, we can disrupt the illicit supply chain to protect consumers and corporations in any country.
What’s your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” If we apply what Sun Tzu wrote in the “The Art of War” to IP protection, we can say that in general terms the scale today is more inclined towards the strategy, many corporations and industry associations have great strategies, however, in my opinion there are opportunities to enhance the IP protection programs with complementary tactics and operations aimed at supporting the strategy while increasing disruptions of the illegal supply chains affecting consumers and corporate profits.
CCL Design Authentication is a specialist security solutions integrator, working with numerous technology partners to offer complex security designs and features.
We offer a blend of physical & digital solutions which form the basis of modern anti-counterfeit programs today, which include covert, overt, digital printing and tamper evident solutions. Our inhouse material science capability provides expertise on substrate choice to meet criteria of adhesion & resistance properties for security labels.
We are unique because we have a wide technical knowledge of Brand Protection solutions & the operations capability to produce them globally. Our expertise is creating multilayered, complex security labels with variable data, manufactured in secure facilities & supplied from a large global footprint. We provide solutions for product authentication and track & trace, so that Brands can prove authenticity & manage their supply chain.
What is one way a brand with a mature IP enforcement program can take their efforts to the next level?
A mature IP enforcement program should never be complacent, and needs to continually evolve to stay ahead of the counterfeiters, who are always evolving their techniques to circumvent security measures.
The biggest challenge a brand owner faces is being able to confirm a product is authentic in the field, as they cannot rely on suspect product being shipped back fast enough.
One way to overcome this challenge and take IP enforcement to the next level is via smartphone authentication. This gives a brand owner the tools to help authenticate a product from anywhere in the world, establishing instantly if the product is genuine or fake.
The best level of protection is always from combining multiple security features and updating these on a regular basis. CCL Design Authentication has the ability to work with many different smartphone technologies to produce complex security labels with both digital and physical security features.
How did you get into brand protection?
I started working in Security Printing in 2002 for Sun Chemical Ltd & then moved to Flint Group in 2017. During the last 20 years I have been involved with security ink solutions for bank notes, tax stamps & brand protection. It’s a small industry and I have crossed paths with currency printers & many Brands for a diverse range of market segments. I am now delighted to be part of the CCL Design Authentication team since 2021, responsible for Global Brand Protection Business Development. The technical diversity we offer already helps global Brands to keep one step ahead of the counterfeiters. We have joined IACC to increase our visibility and participation in the fight against counterfeit. We look forward to meeting with our technology partners and Brand members at the conference in Washington D.C. & I especially look forward to meeting old friends!
Gatekeeper Global has been conducting physical security consulting and corporate investigations worldwide for many years. What sets us apart is that during this time, we have excelled at developing relationships with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies.
Prior to my career in the private sector, I retired as a Captain from Cobb County Sheriff's Department after 15 years. In my law enforcement career, I served in several multi-agency task forces and spent several years teaching at the Police Academy to include being Director of the Georgia Sheriff's Association Sheriff’s-Elect Academy. Many of our investigators, including myself, have long-tenured careers and have testified in numerous large criminal and civil cases.
In 2019, Gatekeeper Global merged with Phoenix Consulting & Investigations, Inc. who had been coordinating intellectual property/counterfeit/trademark infringement cases since 2010. Our goal in every case is to provide the most professional investigation, report, and criminal/civil liaison possible. Gatekeeper Global has assisted many luxury brands with investigative support in local, state, and federal courts for intellectual property prosecutions. Since the merger we have built a list of IP clients representing over 100 brands.
What is the most rewarding part of your job/ what is the thing you have been most proud of in your anti-counterfeiting work?
One of the most satisfying and rewarding parts of my career is in the relationships I have developed over the years with my law enforcement contacts and with the clients for whom I have worked. My proudest accomplishment is being able to bring those contacts together with a group of investigators who become a team working together to bring cases to a successful conclusion for each client.
Over the past several years, Gatekeeper Global has been able to bring several large cases to conclusion that involved seizures of over 250,000 units of counterfeit merchandise. Recently we worked an extensive investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that resulted in closing one of the largest wholesale counterfeit distributors in Atlanta.
What is one fun or interesting thing about yourself that you can share with the IP community?
I try to never say no to a client or contact and still enjoy the work/life balance of problem-solving large scale multi-faceted investigations. I enjoy playing golf, going to Atlanta Braves games, traveling (especially to the beach), and hanging with my family wherever in the world we can get together.
What’s one piece of advice you can give a brand looking to enforce their IP?
Take a holistic view! Intellectual property crime is often linked with other type of misconduct, adding complexity, but equally offering additional insights and enforcement options. For example, diverted genuine products are often traded by the same resellers which deal in counterfeit. Applicable laws (such as the European parallel import doctrine) may be useful tools to fight both threats, even in cases where physical access to the products of concern is no longer possible.
What are the biggest impacts of counterfeits on your industry? Please list industry.
In the IT Industry, the impact of counterfeit goes beyond lost sales and brand reputation concerns. Counterfeit components can compromise the integrity of enterprise IT solutions, leading to a number of additional risks for those dependent on this IT infrastructure.
What’s your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
What new technologies are you aware of or that you’ve used that could make a big difference in brand protection?
Technology is shaping the consumer experience, and we expect more to come as innovation is a long-term trend. At Embryolisse, we embed IP protection technology in our most exposed products. One example is the use of QR code system, which has a dual basic role, for the consumer to verify the genuineness of the product, for us to monitor sources of counterfeit. This technology is highly flexible and can be deployed to track cross-regional activity, support royalty program among others. Finally, technology evolves, so the QR code validation system, newer sophisticated versions are churned out from time to time, it is important to ponder when to upgrade.
What’s one piece of advice you can give an SME looking to enforce their IP?
My peers often overlook IP infringement risk, wrongly assuming that it affects mostly “big brands”. In reality, counterfeiting exists for any products with a consolidated demand, regardless of if high margin positioning or low margin high volume product. For the counterfeiters and their associates, it is a purely economic equation. Ever heard of fake soap, toothpaste, detergent? It is surprising quite common in emerging markets. True, we dream of the resources that large corporates can budget, this is probably our main weakness, which makes us even more vulnerable vis-à-vis IP infringers. However, we can focus on higher IP investment/risk return; for example, local trademark registration is often very affordable, but it avoids very lengthy and costly legal disputes.
What’s your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated (Confucius)
What's the most rewarding part of your job / what is the thing that you've been most proud of in your anti-counterfeiting work?
We, as a team, are truly proud of our ability to work with both massive, multiple, but easy to eliminate IP threats, as well as with complex precedents. This allows to work effectively with all types of IP violations. The greatest satisfaction comes from court victories in the most complex cases related to the protection of IP.
What are your top 2 recommendations to a brand that is building up its IP enforcement program?
Firstly, it is recommended to build an IP enforcement program according to the “online + offline” principle. Most IP threats are hybrid in nature and exist in both digital and physical worlds. Eliminating a threat in only one of these environments does not completely solve the problem.
And secondly, for some jurisdictions (including Russia), in addition to administrative protection measures (police, customs service), civil law measures of protection (civil lawsuits) also show high efficiency (including due to low legal costs). It is recommended to use this tool in such jurisdictions.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
My grandfather often told me the following: «don't jump to conclusions». This is actually a universal rule and extremely useful. To any success or to any trouble you need to react calmly, without haste, with a cool head. In professional activities and in everyday life, this helps a lot to find compromises and non-standard solutions. And besides, it helps protect the nervous system from unnecessary stress.
