Brand Protection

IP Protection – Regain control of your brand with advanced monitoring and prioritization tools and methodology that give you complete visibility of the threats you face and the tools and processes to mitigate them.
Revenue Protection – Drive your revenue growth by removing unauthorized/illicit products from online and offline space, fake advertisements on media, social media or copycat websites can deceive well-intentioned consumers
Trust Protection – Protect the trust consumers place in your brand and gain access to proven practices to prevent consumers and patients from being exposed to unauthorized, dangerous goods and harmful scams
Channel Protection – Get complete visibility of the threats to your customer journey across all channels, leveraging intelligence techniques, technology to identify and prioritize the key issues

The Foundational Principles

Identifying infringer as an unseen competition
Emphasizing prevention, proactivity and strategy
Creating and relying on performance metrics and using data and analysis to assess and mitigate risk
Highlighting the value of internal and external controls and mechanisms for detecting and responding to infringement
Creating a culture of continuous improvement and embracing learning
Promoting a holistic approach that integrates and coordinates all parts of the firm for brand protection
Respond decisively the first time, every time
Communicate and collaborate

Approach

Discover – Gather intelligence on infringement against your brands
Prioritize - Prioritize the most significant threat to your brand and consumer by risk and where the greatest impact can be achieved
Act – Take action against prioritized threats strategically and at scale – After identifying the high-value targets, you need to take swift action that has a lasting impact

Benefits of Brand Protection

Keep patients and consumers safe from physical harm
Protect customers from fraud
Revenue Enhancement
- Regaining lost market share
- Incremental sales
Protect reputation
Enhance legal efficiency
- Increased legal team efficiency
- Incremental legal compensation
Stay compliant
Prevent - use increased business intelligence to target infringing activity proactively

Brand Protection Programme - Blue Print

Governance, Value Creation and Program Management

Framework and Structure
- Dedicated Department Charter
- Program design, management and governance
- Risk policies and perspectives
- KPI
- Central management with global oversight
Policy, standards and practices development
Organizational engagement /collaboration and External stakeholder engagement
Risk Assessment and Global Standards/ Best Practices for Brand Protection
- Requirement and implications for conducting a risk assessment for counterfeit product
- Identify organization and industry-specific standards
- Describe the influence of geographic location on regulatory compliance and customary practices
- Sizing the issue – market evaluation – process/tool
- Illicit trade Root Cause Analysis and developing multi-year tactics to mitigate brand protection risk

Legal Aspects of Counterfeiting
- Explain the legal basis for identifying the violation of product counterfeiting
- Explore how to protect your brand against counterfeiting through the use of trademark and other IPR rights
- Combat counterfeiting through the effective use of enforcement strategies
Key Organizations and Resources For Brand Protection
- Describe the differences between regulatory, industry, academic and professional law enforcement organizations and provide contact details of the relevant authorities in a particular geography
- Explain the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement organizations and areas of speciality
- Identify valuable resources for brand protection within the organization
Talent and Business partners
- Job Description / RFP drafting
- Selection
- Onboarding assistance
- Trainings
Resources: Tools and Toolkits
- supply chain risk assessment
- brand protection risk assessment
- brand protection toolkit
- external manufacturer risk assessment
- new business readiness risk assessment
- supplier risk assessment,
- product and packaging risk assessment
- technology selection tool,
- the legal expense optimization tool
- legal procurement tool
- market monitoring activity tool
- customs awareness and enforcement tool
- root cause analysis,
- analytical/ correlation engine design
- ROI calculation algorithm
- communications (internal and external stakeholders) templates
- RACI
- external manufacturing / CMO risk assessment tool etc.
- Process mapping
- Brand Protection in a Box
Risk-based customized solutions
Incidents and Investigations management tool with dashboards and analytics – Click-IPR
Project Management
- Manage multi-stakeholder, regional and global, complex projects and developing dashboards
- Project Management in a Box

I. Assess

Internal
- Program Risk Assessment Processes and Supply Chain Mapping
- Product Level Risk Assessment / NPI / NPD
External
- Illicit Trade supply chain mapping
- Legal and Regulatory landscape analysis
- Identifying other Brand Protection Laws
Legitimate Vs. Illicit Supply Chains
- Define segments of the supply chain from raw materials to product placement and understand the possible risk to the brand at each point
- Demonstrate relationships between illicit and legitimate supply chains, including diversion, gray market, unauthorized production, theft, return fraud, and repackaging
- Recommend ways and methods to protect and secure the supply chain

II. Protect

Awareness and Education
Brand Protection Strategies for Managing Supply Chain Relationships
- Explain the goals in selecting a partner
- Discuss creating the agreement or contract with conditions that aid the brand owner, subject to legal guidance
- Discuss the value in monitoring and auditing internal processes and third-party partners
- Developing an understanding/ landscape - healthcare industry supply and distribution practices and understanding the illicit product supply chain
Supply Chain Integrity
- External Manufacturers / CMO’s / TPO
- Product Returns and Destruction
- Procurement and Contracting
- Distribution Compliance
- Third-party supplier evaluation and selection
- Risk assessment and audits
Product Protection / Security - authentication features
- Understand the Anti-Counterfeiting Tactics and Technologies
- Identify strategic objectives of a brand protection program
- Understand the key factors to consider in selecting the best tactics for a specific product and problem
- Use the technology selection tool for identifying the right technology basis the risk scoring
- Develop knowledge of the different brand protection technologies
- Example - Understanding customers need state
  - conducting research, surveys and interviews to gain an understanding of the clients' businesses
  - analysing statistics/data
  - detecting issues and investigating ways to resolve them
  - compiling and presenting information orally, visually and in writing
  - making recommendations for using Digi-Tech / authentication solutions (its deployment), improvement, assist in implementing agreed solutions
  - developing and assisting in implementing solution set, new procedures and or trainings.
- Benefits
  - Case Management
  - Intelligence gathering
  - Case Linking
  - Faster QA evaluation of the samples
IPR (TM, CR, Design and Patents Registration)
- Recommendations
- Registrations
- Protection
- Maintenance
- Innovative and cutting-edge technology and legal solutions
Customs Recordal of IPR
- Recordation
- Awareness, sensitization and training programs for the Customs authorities
- Seizure assistance
- Developing intelligence picture of the container movement – identifying the trading routes

Security
Transportation
- Audits
- Investigations and complete case management into incidents of Theft in Transit or SC breaches like pilferage, damage
- Audit, review, risk assessment of the 3PL and Transportation service provider and certifications
Facility
- Audits, Review, Risk Assessments of the Facilities and Certifications
- Physical Security
- Electronic/ Digital Security
- Investigations and complete case management into incidents of Theft in Transit or SC breaches like pilferage, damage
IS and IT
- Audits and Risk Assessments
- Digital Forensics
- Forensic Investigations

III. Monitor

Prioritizing Brand Protection: Analytics And Risk Management
- Develop and implement an internal process for resources prioritization that responds to the identified risk of counterfeit products and describe the implications
- Advise what data to collect, analyse, and measure to reduce the risk of counterfeit products
- Execute risk assessment for counterfeit products and analyse results
Commercial Insights and Data Analytics
- Complaints Monitoring (Customer care, Patient helpline, Quality etc.,)
- Customs – Import and Export Data
- Sales and marketing data evaluation
- The process to capture market / commercial insights
- Review of sales, marketing and industry data
Market Intelligence: (online and offline) Identifying Counterfeit Products
- Develop relevant market structures and how counterfeit products infiltrate them
- Discuss how to protect against the presence of counterfeits, help develop essential skills that can be used for the gathering of information, and assess the problem before taking action
- How to utilize external and internal partners in detecting, assessing, and acting against counterfeiters in the marketplace
- Use OSINT, HUMINT, CORSINT for intelligence gathering
- Online Brand Protection Program
- Develop lead generation program
- Rapid response to leads
- Examples
  - Qualitative, Quantitative and Targeted Surveys, Buy Programs, Mystery Shopping (internal and external stakeholders including investigators and or consultants)
  - Online Monitoring of Market Places, Websites and social media
  - Social Listening
  - Estimating the extent of the issue
  - Intelligence gathering programs
  - Sharing industry best practices

IV. Respond

Anti-Counterfeiting Incident Management - Incident intake, Response Management
- Identify reliable sources of information, and determine how to compile, characterize, and organize it
- Evaluate incident-related data to identify company risks, counterfeiting trends and patterns, and determine root causes
- Determine opportunities for enhancement of the current state
- Document incidents and learnings, and communicate revisions in processes and practices with information sources
- Others
  - SOP, RACI, Timelines
  - Templates and Examples
  - Sharing industry best practices and deployment plans
Management and Enforcement of IPR / Trademark Rights
- Inform re the importance of a company's intellectual property
- Identify strategies to manage intellectual property
- Discuss the importance of collaboration in the protection of company trademarks
- Identify strategies for managing intellectual property globally, including in the EU, China, India, UAE
Enforcement Strategy and execution plan
- Evaluate all the applicable laws for brand protection, including but not limited to just IPR laws
- Develop an enforcement strategy (mix of civil, criminal and administrative) to meet legal and business goals and objectives
Communication: Training and Strategies
- Design an internal communications plan to raise brand protection awareness of employees and strategic partners
- Develop strategies for external strategic communication with law enforcement, regulatory authorities, business partners, and consumers
- Communication templates
Developing Networks and Counter-Intelligence Strategies for Brand Protection
- Develop the criteria for identifying in-country partners within a given industry and the elements of an in-country threat analysis
- Identify context-specific strategies for gathering counter-intelligence data and understand why it is vital to safeguard anti-counterfeiting strategies
- Understand the value of benchmarking against other brands
Conducting Product Security Investigations
- Understand the elements of an investigation process and utilize basic investigation techniques for counterfeit products
- Describe how to build an investigation by integrating identified elements of proof with the appropriate standard of evidence
- Identify the importance of reporting and lead generation and explain how a data management system enhances the investigation process
- Generate performance metrics used to support investigation activity and provide value to the brand owner
Identifying a Brand Protection Team
- Identify roles of a brand protection team
- Use the RACI model to establish team member roles and responsibilities
- Discuss the contributions and support provided by the internal champions
- Develop a strategy to secure resources from stakeholders

V. Influence, Collaborate and Engage

Collaborations and Partnership with Customs, Law Enforcement, Industry bodies/ associations and Government Agencies/ regulatory bodies
- Develop an understanding of the jurisdictional differences of law enforcement agencies and the laws they enforce
- Build an effective network of law enforcement partners
- Educate and train law enforcement about your brand and products
- Identify relevant laws and regulations – Lobby for Anti-counterfeiting law
- Network with industry and professional groups
- Representation at the industry forums and engagement with government authorities, new business development. Example healthcare industry INTA, PSI, USABC, OPPI, FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, UNIFAB, REACT, QBPC, AdvaMed etc.,
- Trainings, Webinar, Seminars etc.,
Consumer/ Patient Engagement
- Raise levels of awareness amongst Consumers and Patients
- Develop positive engagement plans
- CORSINT
- APP/ Portal/ Loyalty programs

VI. Measure

Metrics to measure success
- Brand Protection Financial Recovery Activities
- Brand-Protection Financial Avoidance Activities
ROI Calculation
- Anti-Counterfeiting ROI Calculator
KPI Development
- Group significant activities of the brand protection/anti-counterfeiting team into
- FOUNDATION – activities which support the foundation of the programme, but are not directly related to ‘operational’ investigation and enforcement. Investment is needed to ensure a strong foundation.
- INCIDENTS – response to incidents, verification and compliance with notification and reporting requirements.
- INTELLIGENCE – gathering intelligence, conducting investigations, conducting analysis and maintaining a secure database of information.
- ENFORCEMENT – supporting administrative and criminal actions, threatening and taking civil action, conducting online takedowns
- ENGAGEMENT – engaging in policy discussions with legislators, law enforcement, regulatory authorities, judiciary, health authorities and other public stakeholders, directly or through trade associations; collaborating with industry partners
- AWARENESS – publishing consumer alerts, delivering warning notices, conducting public and employee awareness programmes
- ALIGNMENT – identifying relevant internal stakeholders, defining roles and responsibilities, engaging, conducting training to reinforce ways of working, delivering relevant information to stakeholders and conducting periodic reviews
- Each activity leads to outcomes and those outcomes lead to impact.
- Ultimately, the activities are designed to minimising the RISK of adverse incidents and legal/regulatory liability.