BRAND PROTECTION / Illicit Trading
10% and more of global consumption originates from illicit trading (WTO estimates). This number must be assumed to be way higher on the African continent. All stakeholders are losing: from governments to legitimate businesses to consumers.
As one of your most important asset, your brand needs to be protected, by all means. Your brand is at risk by a wide range of different illegal activities of criminal individuals or organizations, including:
• Anti-Counterfeiting
• Illegal Imports
• Parallel Trade
Law enforcement agencies in developing countries typically do not have the resources actually needed. Protection Masters has the reach to properly track-down illicit trades, stamping out ill practices and send strong signals of zero tolerance to would-be offenders.
Our proven operational approach ensures thorough market intelligence, investigation, enforcement with involvement of relevant authorities as well as cleansing / prevention measures going-forward.
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING
Counterfeit products are non-genuine (“fake”) products. They are produced domestically or can also be imported.
We support you from start to finish:
- Identify Sources of Infringement: identify sources of counterfeit or pirated goods, including the individuals or companies involved in the distribution; create and implement online brand protection programs; conduct anonymous purchases that will be admissible in court as evidence
- Support Enforcement Action: execute civil seizures to recover counterfeit merchandise in close coordination with law enforcement organizations; comply with the letter of the law to withstand the scrutiny of anticipated legal action and testify as needed in court
- Design a Program for Prevention: develop a program for anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting that helps you to proactively respond to infringements in the marketplace; setup a security infrastructure to assist you in the prevention of channel disruption, including the design, installation and optimization of monitoring equipment
ILLEGAL IMPORTS
Illegally imported goods have been produced outside of the country of destination. This can be legal goods or also counterfeited products.
Provision of evidence for seizure and destruction orders of infringing products. When conducting illegal imports investigations our strategies usually involve the following:
- Intelligence / Market Search: conducting and designing market surveys to highlight specific problems in the market place
- Identify Supply Chain: identifying the supply chain from the end seller to the source, to gather evidence to expose the importers to legal or other remedies; trap purchases to obtain samples together with offers to supply to use as evidence; use of various front companies to make covert trade approaches; apply forensic analysis of products and packaging
- Support Enforcement Action: execute civil seizures to recover illegally imported merchandise in close coordination with law enforcement organizations: comply with the letter of the law to withstand the scrutiny of anticipated legal action and testify as needed in court
- Design a Program for Prevention: develop a program for anti-illegal imports that helps you to proactively respond to infringements in the marketplace; setup a security infrastructure to assist you in the prevention of channel disruption, including the design, installation and optimization of monitoring equipment
PARALLEL TRADE
Parallel trade occurs when products produced under the protection of a patent, trademark, or copyright in one market are subsequently exported to a second market and sold there without the authorization of the local owner of the intellectual property (IP) right.
- Intelligence / Market Search: conducting and designing market surveys to highlight specific problems in the market place
- Identify Supply Chain: identifying the chain from the producer to seller to retailer to find the loopholes; trap purchases to obtain samples together with offers to supply to use as evidence; use of various front companies to make covert trade approaches; apply forensic analysis of products and packaging
- Support Enforcement Action: execute civil seizures to recover illegal merchandise in close coordination with law enforcement organizations; comply with the letter of the law to withstand the scrutiny of anticipated legal action and testify as needed in court
- Design a Program for Prevention: develop a program for anti-parallel imported goods that helps you to proactively respond to infringements in the marketplace; setup a security infrastructure to assist you in the prevention of channel disruption, including the design, installation and optimization of monitoring equipment