Please view this month's Member Spotlights!

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. 

Glenn Jones

HP, Inc.

Director, Global Anti-Counterfeit Program 

East Sussex, UK 

What 2 things contribute to a successful brand protection program? 

Firstly, it is important to fully understand what you are trying to protect and where. It is necessary for Brand Protection Teams to have a close relationship with business colleagues and to work with them to establish the extent and scale of the counterfeiting problem you are trying to address. Once a strategy has been implemented it is important to continue to work with the business to demonstrate the benefits of brand protection, return on investment and increased opportunities for the sale of genuine products.

Secondly, engage and work with your service providers. A relationship built on trust and understanding is imperative.

How do you choose a 3^rd party service provider? What things do you look for?

Third party service providers play a crucial role in partnering with brands to tackle counterfeiting. For me, I initially look at three specific areas. (i), It is important that service providers demonstrate the highest levels of integrity and ethics, (ii), possess a solid and credible relationship with law enforcement agencies to facilitate the presentation of criminal complaints on behalf of the brand, and, (iii), service providers should demonstrate a good knowledge of the specific markets / countries they operate in and possess the necessary investigation skills and experience to conduct a range of actions from simple to complex.

What hobbies or causes are you passionate about? 

I am generally passionate about sport and travel. I play golf and am a member of a running club. I enjoy watching most sports and have been a season ticket holder at the English Premier League football club, Brighton and Hove Albion for many years. It is a great time to be a Brighton fan with this season the team playing in a European competition for the first time in its history!

I have been fortunate to travel a lot through my work and for leisure and have now visited over 70 countries.

Contact info: glenn2.jones@hp.com 

D.J. Dart 

INADEV Corporation

What are the top 2 challenges in IP enforcement you see affecting your industry over the next year? 

The rapid evolution of disruptive technologies is reducing the efficacy of traditional enforcement methods. Advancements, such as deep learning and Generative AI, pose significant challenges as they provide bad actors an avenue for more sophisticated IP theft methods that can imitate and distribute proprietary content with unprecedented accuracy and speed.

Globalization and cross border enforcement requires enhanced collaboration among enforcement agencies, industry stakeholders and policy makers around the world to ensure effective IP protection in the interconnected technological landscape.

Addressing these challenges requires innovative strategies and collaboration between tech companies and policymakers to strengthen IP protection mechanisms.

Can you provide your top 2 best practices for protecting IP?

At INADEV, we recognize every brand is unique and risks related to protecting your intellectual assets are ever changing. Therefore, it is important to (1) establish an IP protection strategy, particularly around technology and data, which is customized to your unique business needs. Risks to enforcing the protection of your IP are rapidly changing and deploying an IP protection solution that is dynamic and adaptable is critical. An effective IP protection and enforcement strategy requires an integrated approach across functions of the organization. To mitigate fraud and counterfeiting, it’s critical to (2) leverage the power of collective intelligence. Using an AI/ ML-driven data sharing platform provides a more robust and comprehensive approach to predictive threat analysis, entity resolution, and fraud detection.

What’s your favorite famous or inspirational quote? 

“If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter.” Blaise Pascal

The importance of brevity and conciseness in writing is crucial to create impact, clarity, focus, and readability. While conciseness should never compromise depth when necessary, to strive for mastery of brevity makes the connection to readers and audiences more effective and engaging.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” Anton Chekhov

We write to communicate, to stimulate interest, to convey a story, to persuade. There is no better way to tell a story than to paint a picture for the reader to create a perception of connection and feeling.

Cyndi Bray 

Wad-Free® by Brayniacs LLC 

What’s one piece of advice you can give an SME looking to enforce their IP? 

When you are an inventor/entrepreneur, getting knocked off is personal. Swift takedowns can lessen the blow, and protect your brand reputation.

It is important for SMEs to develop a comprehensive IP protection program, and to pivot as the landscape changes. Constant monitoring can be done by your own team, or by hiring an enforcement service that meets your needs.

Enforcing IP can be a financial challenge for SMEs, but the IACC provides many affordable resources making enforcement attainable.

What are the biggest impacts of counterfeits on your industry? Please list industry. 

Consumers may not be aware that counterfeits use inferior materials and processes, which can negatively impact the effectiveness and safety of the product.

I invented a laundry gadget that prevents bed sheets from tangling in the washer and the dryer. Careful consideration went into the design of the product, and into the selection of the materials. In fact, I had a plastic custom compounded because there was nothing available that met all my needs: it had to be safe for fabric and appliances, tolerate the entire laundry process, and be safe for humans and the environment.

Counterfeits product designs are not only inferior, so, too, are their materials…with negative consequences.

What hobbies or causes are you passionate about? 

I have always been passionate about conservation. I find it very rewarding to have invented a product that saves laundry-doer’s a tremendous amount of resources, while solving their laundry pet peeve.

Running my SME is not easy, but hearing what a difference I’m making in my customers’ lives has made it all worthwhile!

When I’m not busy with all things Wad-Free®, you’ll find me hiking, snowshoeing, running, or cycling in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

Contact: cyndi@wadfree.com 

Laure Chemla 

Wella

What’s one piece of advice you can give a brand looking to enforce their IP?

Consider yourself as part of the business and be very practical in the way you create your brand protection strategy. You have to take into consideration your top products and top markets to define your priorities and ensure the success of your strategy. Connecting online and offline data will be the key of your success. 

What’s one piece of advice you can give an SME looking to enforce their IP?

Liaising with other SMEs or similar actors in their industry is key. IP associations can also provide significant support, notably in terms of training customs and police. I would also encourage SMEs to contact marketplaces and work with them as today most of them are very active and supportive when it comes to blocking counterfeiters. Investing time is the key when you have a limited budget. 

What hobbies or causes are you passionate about?

I was born in Marseille (France), by the sea, and live by the Leman Lake. Water has always been a key element for me, and it may be why I started practicing scuba diving. I am very sensitive to the protection of the sea and ocean whether it is plastic micro-particle pollution, over-fishing, or the impact of global warming on the seabed.

Contact: laure.chemla@wella.com 

The IACC would like to welcome our new members!

IDEAS IPS

EBRAND

Ohio State University

Bejing King IP Consultancy

ChaseWaterford