This document discusses how to create a successful brand protection program. It notes that counterfeiting costs legitimate brands over $1 trillion annually. A strong brand protection program requires tracking counterfeiters worldwide using brand protection software. Such software allows companies to organize investigations, share information mobilely, and mitigate risks to their brands from counterfeiting. The document recommends the software products Scout and FākRTM to help companies effectively manage brand protection efforts.

1. How to Create
a Successful
Brand Protection
Program

2. Introduction
Parallel Markets & “Pirateers”
The Need for Worldwide Brand
Protection
Liabilities on the Web
Software: the Backbone of Today’s
Brand Protection
Must-haves for Your Software
Intuitive Organization & Navigation
Make Your Protection Mobile
Summary
Table of Contents
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5
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3. 3
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Introduction
The counterfeiter’s ill-gotten money is not only profit
lost to the brand maker, it’s also the overall image of
a brand and millions of jobs worldwide.
Unfortunately, that astronomical number is expected
to get higher with each successive year.
All the years and resources that go into building a
brand – development, public relations, marketing and
the additional expenses building the reputation of a
product – gets compromised by second-rate quality.
So, who can benefit from a brand protection program?
Anyone who feels like their brand, their employees
and their customers are worth protecting.
In nature, there is something known as mimicry,
whereby an organism copies characteristics of a
more successful organism in order to survive. But for
those who profit from stolen intellectual property and
second-rate goods, it’s simply a matter of easy money.
Given the ease and profitability of counterfeited goods,
there will always be those who are willing to gain from
the work and talent of brand makers.
$1.77 trillion.1
Thats the projected value
of global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in
2015 on the grey and black market, also known as
parallel markets.

4. 4
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Parallel Markets
& “Pirateers”
Parallel markets don’t play by the same rules as
legitimate ones, so your copyright won’t make a
difference there. Pirates who profiteer from coveted
brands, who we may call “pirateers,” are able to find a
brand’s customers, who often have no idea they are
buying a knockoff.
For example, in Europe’s fashion industry, “the
threat that counterfeiting poses to the industry’s
innovative output and the direct and indirect costs
to the EU economy,” according to the EU’s Office for
Harmonization in the Internal Market. Ten percent
of fashion-related goods are counterfeit, costing
legitimate brands $28.5 billion USD per year of profits.
While it’s difficult to assign a specific cost to individual
companies, luxury brands like Louis Vuitton are
extremely aggressive pursuing piracy because of the
extraordinary profits lost to counterfeiters.
Because the problem is so widespread, there is very
little chance the authorities will take care of this
problem for you. Brand makers have to take matters
into their own hands, and a successful brand
Counterfeit Products (koun-ter-fit, prod-uh kt)
That is, any goods or packaging that bear a trademark that is
virtually the same as one registered to an authorized trademark
owner. are one of the most significant global threats to brands and
those who hold intellectual property rights to them.2
protection program is the best way to go. But that’s
easier said than done.
Today, the absolute best way to bolster brand
protection is to use software to keep investigations
in order. It’s the single-best way to take back profits
stolen by pirateers.
[ [
10%
of fashion-related goods are counterfeit,
costing legitimate brands
$28.5 Billion
USD per year of profits.3

5. 5
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
The Need for Brand
Protection Worldwide
Counterfeiting is a major economic problem with
many tentacles. Today, with increasingly connected
global markets and the dark channels of the Internet,
pirateers and their wares are extremely difficult to
track.
Brand protection software is the best way for
companies to do just that: track.
Generally speaking, the United States has a good basic
structure to combat counterfeiters. Any worthwhile,
innovative product will be copyrighted by those who’ve
worked to create a brand or product.
One e-commerce site alone -- Alibaba -- represents the
problem of stolen IP and second-rate goods flooding
the global market. When the site’s cofounder promised
to fight the problem, global brands collectively scoffed.4
Those who try to copy or get a close proximity to a
business’s colors, logo and product or service will
get shut down in North America and most of Europe.
But for other parts of the globe, this basic protective
measure isn’t in place. In many parts of the world,
stealing a brand’s winning formula or format is both
easy and rewarded with business.

6. 6
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Liabilities on
the Web
IN A WORLD FILLED WITH INTENTIONAL
AND ACCIDENTAL BRAND SABOTEURS,
COMPANIES NEED TO AGGRESSIVELY
PLAY DEFENSE AS WELL AS OFFENSE.7
Once upon a time, shoppers had to go to physical
locations to pick up goods like purses, watches and
other brand memorabilia. These days, however,
about 60 percent of retail purchases will
somehow be influenced by the internet5
, partially
because of the prevalence of smartphone use.
However, as holiday purchases online get closer
to about half of all seasonal shopping6
, it begs
the question: how many goods purchased online
will be counterfeit?
While it may be suspicious to an online customer to
see a jacket that normally costs $250 selling at $40,
most people are simply happy to find a good deal. The
prospective buyer may think the pricing behind the
jacket is based on it being used or wholesale.
But those rationalizations may not even come to mind
because the mentality of a shopper is often steeped
in want: to see something they like, and next to it an
exceedingly affordable price given the brand.
The downside of convenience shopping online is that
pictures are often misrepresentative.
Upon arrival to a customer’s home, the Louis Vuitton
handbag that looked so nice before has some things
that are off, such as:
• The trim that should be leather is not
• The stitching is imprecise when it should be
perfect
• Patterns do not match
• The color of the lining isn’t as rich
• And other sloppy craftsmanship

7. 7
Parallel Markets
& “Pirateers”
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Software: The Backbone of
Today’s Brand Protection
Given the scope of counterfeiting, it may seem
impossible to fight. But businesses of all sizes can’t
afford to take a backseat to the problem. A robust
anti-counterfeiting and investigation program delivers
instant ROI in the sense that risk is immediately
mitigated. A company that gains the reputation for
being laxed on the matter risks increased attacks on
their brand.
Once accustomed to the benefits, it will be hard for you
to fathom how anyone could go about orchestrating
brand protection measures and fraud investigations
without software. In the 1980s, it would have been
much more difficult to manage brand protection via
piles of documents, folders, pictures, loose notes and
more.
That’s why business leaders relied primarily on their
company’s lawyers when a counterfeiter’s business
became noticeable. It was simply too difficult to
track and build a case on the hard-to-notice, smaller
counterfeiters.
But with the right software, it’s possible and
worthwhile for a company to pursue all levels of
counterfeiters. Ideally, the same software used
by insurance companies, law enforcement, fire
departments and banks to determine fraud in their
audits and investigations can be used by any company
to protect their intellectual property. -- That’s the mark
of a software brand protection managers should be
seeking.

8. 8
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Must-haves for
Your Software
So far, we’ve established that the conveniences of
investigative software for your company’s brand
protection program cannot be ignored. It should be
good enough for professional investigators to use
yet user-friendly and easy to navigate enough for
members of your team to navigate.
Here are some additional must-haves to put on your
checklist; software should be able to help you:
• Identify and investigate criminal activity and
trademark violations of your company’s brand
by orchestrating, staging and managing cases on
one platform
• Generate actionable leads with in-house
dedication for local law enforcement, private
investigation groups, customs agencies and
attorneys to handle counterfeit cases quickly and
efficiently
• Streamline communications with your entire team
regarding ongoing case work
• Provide actionable, tangible scope and results
to CEO, including money recovered and shutting
down counterfeit websites and facilities
• Develop educational communication strategies
across a global domain
• Track and research consumer confusion with
brand trademarks
These must-haves should be offered as a web-based,
collaborative portal in which employees, designated
vendors, suppliers, subcontractors and managers
tasked with protecting a brand can easily manage their
roles.
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program

9. 9
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Intuitive Organization
& Navigation
If the integrity of your company’s distribution channel
has been compromised – if the parallel market has
gotten to your customer first, at least you know that
handling the situation has never been easier.
On a regular basis, you’ll likely have multiple people
filling important roles on the leads you’re managing --
some at the same time. Investigation software will help
you keep track of each person filling assorted roles for
each case. Helpful tools allow you to delegate and stay
abreast of specific tasks, making each person’s job that
much easier.
Some handy features include case lists with relevant
details, a news feed, assignment columns, a team
list, a history of actions by the team, calendars and a
place to put all files, pictures and more. Reports and
administrative features give the investigation leader
easy access to the status of cases.
Just think
how useful a customized brand protection
software could be to your business.
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program

10. 10
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Make Your
Protection Mobile
There will likely be moments when you need your
anti-counterfeiting technology to be mobile. When
members of your team are at a street bazaar, flea
market or if they encounter counterfeit goods in other
countries, an app to connect with the main software
would be extremely helpful.
FākR™ is an app that does just that. It goes wherever
your team goes, as long as they take their smartphones.
Those who are registered in an investigation can
handily share pics of ripped-off property, contribute
to helpful details regarding suspected pirateers and
help investigators easily organize a case.
As a web-based portal that can be accessed anytime
and anywhere by members of the specified group,
FākR™ and affiliated anti-counterfeiting software
will help protect your brand on the street and
online, providing a centralized database to make
sense of all relevant data.
INTRODUCING
™

11. 11
How to Create a Successful Brand Protection Program
Summary
It’s clear that counterfeiters pose a major threat to
brands today. The more customers want your product,
the more likely it is that your intellectual property is
going to be stolen and badly reproduced with second-
rate quality. You don’t want to be another number
heaped upon the giant pile lost to today’s pirateers.
Utilizing brand protection best practices, which can be
found in a Brand Protection Software called Scout, will
help mitigate this problem. Scout and FākR™ put you
in the driver’s seat to better control how the world is
treating your hard-earned reputation.
In addition to all of the helpful features, our software
makes it easy for data importing as well as seamless
integration with your current digital information.
If you’re still worried about the transition, we are
always easy to contact and offer consultation anytime
you need it.
1 International Chamber of Commerce / BASCAP, Estimating the Global Economic and Social Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy www.iccwbo.org/Advocacy-
Codes-and-Rules/BASCAP/BASCAP-Research/Economic-impact/Global-Impacts-Study/
2 Jeremy M. Wilson, Ph.D., Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection, Michigan State University, A-CAPP Paper Series: Brand Protection 2020
Perspectives on the Issues Shaping the Global Risk and Response to Product Counterfeiting
3 European Union Intellectual Property Office, “The economic cost of IPR infringement in the clothing, footwear and accessories sector” https://euipo.europa.
eu/ohimportal/en/web/observatory/ip-infringements_clothing-accessories-footwear
4 The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2016 www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-under-fire-from-global-product-brands-over-counterfeits-1466005050
5 Forrester’s US Cross-Channel Retail Forecast, 2012 To 2017 https://www.forrester.com/Forrester+US+CrossChannel+Retail+Sales+To+Reach+18+Trillion
+By+2017/-/E-PRE6324
6 Prosper Insights and Analytics on behalf of the National Retail Federation (NRF) www.nrf.com/media/press-releases/retailers-very-digital-holiday-season-
according-nrf-survey
7 The Wall Street Journal, CFO Journal, Dec. 12, 2013 www.deloitte.wsj.com/cfo/2013/12/11/what-cfos-can-do-to-protect-brand-assets-2/
SOURCES
Visit us at:
www.scoutcms.com
877-772-6886
3310 Big Beaver Rd.
Suite 204
Troy, MI 48084

12. About Scout
Scout is a product of Virtual Advantage, a privately held
company founded in 2004, headquartered in Troy, MI. We
provide investigative solutions through technology to some of
the largest insurance providers, government entities, brand
protection and anti-counterfeiting groups.
Our focus is on making our client’s investigations more
effective and impactful via enterprise software and mobile
applications. We help our clients with brand protection,
anti-counterfeit IP infringement, trademark enforcement,
insurance claims, incident reporting, regulatory compliance
and whistleblower issues.
877-772-6886
3310 Big Beaver Rd.
Suite 204
Troy, MI 48084
www.scoutcms.com