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.
What is one way a brand with a mature IP enforcement program can take their efforts to the next level?
Continuously question the status quo – including that of their own programs. Assumptions made six months ago are no longer valid, let alone those made two years ago. Counterfeiters and other ”bad actors” are getting more and more sophisticated and brazen in the use of advanced technology and tools, as well as their targets. From medicine to car brake pads, nothing is secure from greed. By questioning their own status quo and exploring the latest technologies available with an intent of continuous improvement, even mature IP enforcement programs can improve, perhaps even more so, because they are mature.
How do you show your clients the value of brand protection?
We simply show them how our technology works with their products. Once they see what advanced technology can do for them, protect their products, and enhance their productivity, they also immediately understand what can and will happen if their brand is not protected.
What hobbies or causes are you passionate about?
Bouldering, a subset of rock climbing, requires all the skills I value most in myself, and they’re the same skills that I bring to my job every day. Bouldering demands creativity, daring, collaboration, and, most importantly, persistence. In my career and climbing, I define success as getting the job done right no matter how many failures or stumbles you have along the way. Failure means we’re pushing ourselves to our limit, and persistence is when we push ourselves just beyond that limit. I climb because it teaches me how to better myself inside and outside the gym.
What is one way a brand with a mature IP enforcement program can take their efforts to the next level?
A brand with a mature IP enforcement should link security features to how the product is used, if they want to take their efforts to the next level. Outstanding and secure feature design comes down to integration into how the product will be used. Visible security features need to be understood to have value.
Crane Authentication’s simple, effective designs are often the result of a great deal of work where counterfeit-resistance and usability are balanced with each other. Brands always think about how overall package design and brand identity are integrated. Adding overt, secure effects to that integration is where higher level security can really take form.
What are your top 2 recommendations to a brand that is building up its IP enforcement program?
Consider end-user engagement early on! What are consumers most interested in observing? This means envisioning how secure effects like 3D can be integrated into the packaging where consumers are mostly likely to look. Early planning helps avoid ‘late to the game,’ stuck-on features that can detract from shelf-appeal or be easy to overlook.
Second, evaluate features based on ease of use and difficulty to simulate. Feature effectiveness relies not only on being seen but being intuitive and difficult to replicate. What a consumer sees as ‘shiny’ may be neither distinct nor difficult to simulate, so an IP program with sufficient time for feature evaluation is key.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
The best advice I’ve ever received was found among my belongings as a hand-written note by one of my great aunts. It was almost ghostly how I came across it, the quote is “Communication; the human connection is the key to personal and career success.”
I took it to mean genuine integrity comes from a place where clarity and honesty are at the center of any communication. Whether directly delivering for a customer or working with associates to find solutions for designs, it’s important to never forget how there is a person at the other end of any interaction.
Can you provide your top 2 best practices for protecting IP?
Technology and the law are constantly evolving, which is what makes our jobs both challenging and fascinating. In order to gain a full understanding of this evolution, it is important to take practical steps to utilize the technology. I like to become familiar with the technology, learn about how it is being utilized by infringers, and brainstorm with my colleagues on how to build on our enforcement strategy to protect our clients’ intellectual property assets.
Another important practice relevant to protecting intellectual property is collaboration. I work very closely with our clients to support their brands, priorities and vision for their enforcement program. During our meetings, we share recent trends and specific examples of infringing activity. By sharing information and maintaining frequent communication, we are able to set goals, build a strategy and achieve positive results, together.
What are your top 2 recommendations to a brand that is building up its IP enforcement program?
Teamwork is the key to any successful enforcement program. Therefore, I recommend taking the time to build a strong team dedicated to protecting the brand’s intellectual property assets. I surround myself with smart people from diverse backgrounds who are passionate about intellectual property enforcement and excited to take on new challenges. Every member of our team is knowledgeable, experienced and brings a different set of skills to the table. I also suggest coordinating regular trainings to ensure that all the team members know about recent developments in the law, technology and the brand’s priorities. Collectively, the team should set goals for all enforcement programs, track their progress and pursue high-value targets through civil or criminal action.
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
There are many strong female leaders in this field. Many of these women are working at law firms and as in-house counsel for various brands. Their ambition and success has inspired me. It has changed how I approach my own work and my career. As a working mom during the pandemic, I have definitely faced my share of challenges. Luckily, I was able to develop deep connections with my female colleagues and have meaningful conversations about work life balance, self-advocacy and other workplace issues. We encourage each other to be confident, resilient and work towards our goals. I think to be successful, you have to take time to build these types of relationships and have allies in the industry.
How do you show your company the value of a brand protection program?
Your brand is your good will, it brings value, reputation, and revenue. For us, it’s how we turn infringement into additional revenue. You take the customs seizures with an estimated MSRP value of over a $1M, removal of more than 250K counterfeit/unlicensed product listings from online marketplaces and convert as many of those companies as possible to licensees. Keep in mind, ROI also goes beyond tangible revenue. If your brand is ever challenged on the grounds of genericsm, invalidity, or non-use, these efforts go a long way to help solidify the value of your brand. Your brand becomes meaningless if your brand were to become generic.
What’s one piece of advice you can give an SME looking to enforce their IP?
Start small, don’t take on the entire world at one time. Evaluate where you need to protect your IP first, not every company’s IP protection plan is the same. Surround yourself with 3rd party providers that can support “your” specific needs. Lay out a complete plan from beginning of enforcement to potential prosecution. A fragmented plan can lead to unsatisfactory, costly, and disastrous results. What’s more important, internal education. Train your employees (customers too) on what your IP is and how to protect it internally. Protecting the IP from inside your company is just as important and external enforcement.
What is the most interesting place you have been to?
I’ve been to quite a few places. Places throughout the US, China, Taiwan, Korea, Paris, Nice and Montreux Switzerland. Montreux and Nice were absolutely amazing and I’d go back in a heartbeat. One place that surprised me the most was Vietnam. Lots of history there, quite eye opening. I found people very friendly, the food was amazing, and very reasonably priced. I was amazed at how people utilized their scooters to carry everything from families, chickens, ice, to full-size beds! It was December 99 degrees with 1000% and seeing Christmas decorations was something I’ll never forget.
What are the top 2 challenges in IP enforcement you see over the next year?
Enforcing IP rights online is still the number one challenge we face every day. While major e-commerce websites have been implementing more tools to take down infringing goods efficiently, there is always room for improvement, particularly when it comes smaller online marketplaces. And speaking of the virtual world, the Metaverse seems to be the next big challenge for IP enforcement. The second challenge is reconnecting with Customs authorities and law enforcement agencies after Covid and the extended lockdown. Continued cooperation and in-person trainings are critical for the detention of counterfeits goods.
Can you provide your top 2 best practices for protecting IP?
My two best practices for protecting IP are: (i) there is no “one size fits all”; and (ii) always think outside the box. Every brand is different and has its own issues and challenges, so what is good for one client may not be good for another, even if they are in the same industry. Although there are some common issues in counterfeiting, not every brand is in the same position from an IP standpoint. Also, we always need to be creative. The most interesting and challenging cases are those that seem to be a “no” or “not possible” when first analyzed.
What is the most interesting place you have been to?
I’m an avid traveler and I’ve had the opportunity to visit many countries around the world. Every place has something interesting or special, but if I have to choose one, I would say that Japan has been the most interesting so far. It is unique in every aspect.
What are the top 2 challenges in IP enforcement you see affecting your industry over the next year?
For me the main challenges facing our industry moving forward will be the same as they are now in that there is no avoiding the internet and how it will always be utilized for the promotion/sale of counterfeit goods on e-commerce sites and especially more so on social media platforms.
Counterfeiters are constantly adapting their methods to move away from the traditional routes of how they supply products to the “buyer” and are very creative in how they mask shipments, so more engagement needs to be had with the logistics industry to address this issue.
How do you show your clients the value of brand protection?
Having previously been based in the APAC region for a period of time as well as other global hotspots I frequently travel to many countries (COVID permitting) to manage/undertake investigations and have a large network of trusted partners. This allows me to provide my clients with a unique perspective of issues faced and how the counterfeiters operate on all levels both covertly and overtly. Using my knowledge and over 20 years of experience I can I provide insights and guidance on how to implement cost effective BP strategies within the EMEA region and also globally, incorporating intelligence and investigations, the objective of which is to ultimately lead to successful raid actions with local and international law enforcement and government agencies. I believe education is key and appreciate the need to be flexible, case challenges change and need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, so working with brands to be adaptive to threats is paramount.
What is the most interesting place you have been to?
There have been a lot, but the best one for its sheer history, architecture, people and tubing on the Amazon has to be Peru with the highlight being the end of a five day trek to Machu Picchu and seeing the sunrise at the ‘Sun Gate’…
Director, Education and Anti-Counterfeiting Initiatives
Northbrook, IL, USA
What are the benefits of educating consumers about counterfeit products?
With education comes power. We are all doing what we can to stop counterfeit products from seeping into the supply chain. However, sometimes they still do, and consumers knowingly or unknowingly purchase them. Educating the consumer on the health and safety risks that these products pose to themselves, their families and society at large is critical to keeping them safe. Also, decreasing the demand for these products hurts counterfeiters in the only place that matters to them, their pockets.
How can companies work internally and/or with other organizations/competitors to educate consumers?
Our organization has been committed to fighting counterfeiting for over 35 years. In 2019, it became clear to us that the consumer is the paramount stakeholder—they make the final purchasing decision. We began the anti-counterfeiting consumer education campaign, Be Safe Buy Real, besafebuyreal.ul.org, to educate consumers that purchasing counterfeits is not a victimless crime. The results have been remarkable! We have reached over 11 million through social media and we have 39 public, private and government partners who help us share our message. Please contact me if you would like to join our cause!
What’s your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
I have a few, but the most recent one, that has resonated with me is “Be curious, not judgmental”—Ted Lasso
It seems we could all benefit from this perspective during this moment in time.
