Counterfeiting affects your business in many ways. It harms your brand and your reputation. It also jeopardizes the safety of your customers or patients. Brand protection is important as it allows you to prevent these problems but, depending on your industry, also allows you to comply with new governmental regulations.
The lack of brand protection measures makes your business vulnerable to financial losses, legal battles, and severe reputation damage. The rise of counterfeit goods, intellectual property theft, and online brand abuse threatens the integrity and value of your brand. Brand protection safeguards your reputation, ensures customer trust, and secures your market position.
Legal initiatives have encouraged the implementation of anti-counterfeiting measures. Since protecting products is not free, brand owners need to select the best compromise in terms of security versus cost, which requires the creation of an in-house brand protection team.
The ideal brand protection program should be holistic and include anti-counterfeiting, track and trace, and other solutions depending on your market needs. In a combined case, the implemented anti-counterfeiting feature would tell the user that the tracking codes can be trusted.
Let’s start with the definition of brand protection.
What Is Brand Protection?
Brand protection is the strategies and measures you take to prevent the unauthorized use of your company’s brand, products, and intellectual property like a trademark. It involves solutions to protect against counterfeiting, intellectual property theft, and other forms of brand infringement.
Why Is Brand Protection Important?
To answer the question “Why is brand protection important?” it suffices to have a look at the repercussions counterfeiting and the absence of a brand has on businesses and people. Brand protection helps you in a number of areas:
1. Prevent Financial Losses
Counterfeit goods and brand infringement lead to substantial financial losses for companies.
Counterfeit products siphon off legitimate sales, costing businesses billions annually. For example, in 2023, the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit luxury goods in the US valued at $1.03 billion highlighted the economic scale of this issue. The costs associated with combating infringement and handling legal disputes are much higher when compared to the cost of the set up of a brand protection system.
2. Avoid Legal Enforcement and Fines
Legal initiatives have been set up to force manufacturers to adopt anti-counterfeiting solutions for their products. , resulting in a decrease in share value due to the impact on public opinion.
For example, the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) ((Directive 2011/62/EU) was implemented in 2013. Under the directive, all prescription medicines circulated in the European market are required to have two safety features. That includes an anti-tampering device on the packaging and a unique identifier.
3. Maintain Customer Loyalty
Ensuring customers receive authentic products builds trust and encourages repeat business. A strong brand attracts and retains customers, enhancing their overall experience and satisfaction.
This is even more important after the increase in online sales, which leaves buyers more vulnerable to purchasing a fake product. The growth of ecommerce has led to an increase in counterfeiters exploiting online platforms. According to the International Chamber of Commerce, counterfeit and pirated goods drained $4.2 trillion from the global economy and put 5.4 million legitimate jobs at risk by 2022.
Nike, for instance, has taken significant steps to combat counterfeit products by using advanced tracking and authentication technologies. These efforts have helped Nike maintain customer trust and loyalty, despite the widespread issue of counterfeit athletic apparel and footwear.
4. Strong Brand Value and Firm Reputation
When consumers unknowingly buy a counterfeit product and are disappointed with the purchase, they will likely blame the manufacturer. If consumers never discover that they bought a fake product, they could be reluctant to purchase other products from that manufacturer.
They would eventually pass on their disappointment in the brand to other potential consumers. This will harm the reputation of the company in the long run. Announcing publicly that a brand protection strategy is in place, although the details are being kept secret, will reassure public opinion.
5. Protect the Health and Safety of Consumers
In some domains, counterfeits can become a threat to the safety and health of the consumer. Typical such domains are:
- Electrical components: fake circuit breakers can cause fire or deadly electrical shocks
- Automotive parts: fake brake pads or suspension parts can cause deadly accidents
- Pharmaceutical products: fake medication can kill patients
The harm done to consumers or patients due to counterfeits affects the confidence people have in the counterfeited brand.
Types of Threats to Your Brand
Here are some common threats to your brand in the absence of a brand protection strategy:
- Counterfeiting: Unauthorized production and sale of imitation products. Counterfeiting leads to a plethora of problems for the brand.
- IP Theft: Stealing intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
- Phishing Attacks: Fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information by masquerading as a trustworthy entity.
- Social Media and Online Brand Abuse: Unauthorized use of brand elements on social media and other online platforms.
The Cost of Not Protecting Your Brand
Failing to protect your brand can lead to severe consequences:
- Reputation Damage: Loss of customer trust and brand credibility.
- Financial Losses: Decreased sales and increased costs due to counterfeiting and legal battles.
- Legal Consequences: Potential lawsuits from consumers harmed by counterfeit products and penalties for failing to protect intellectual property effectively.
The true cost of the lack of protection outweighs any investment made in brand protection strategies. Once the brand reputation is damaged, it can take years to build it back up.
5 Brand Protection Strategies to Choose From
Here are some strategies to put a brand protection system in place. The type of strategy you use will depend on your product and market type.
1. IP Management
A strong intellectual property management practice is the starting point to protect your brand. It safeguards your patents, trademarks, and copyrights. In any unfortunate case of a counterfeiting attack, you’ll have legal grounds to take action.
Your company should regularly monitor and enforce your IP rights to prevent infringement. This includes registering trademarks and patents in all relevant markets, regular audits of intellectual property (IP) assets, and staying updated on IP laws and regulations.
For example, Microsoft invests heavily in IP management, employing a dedicated team to monitor and enforce its software patents and trademarks globally. This proactive approach helps the company protect its innovations and maintain its competitive edge.
2. Monitor and Enforce: AlpVision’s BMS System
Registering your intellectual property is the beginning of your brand protection. Next, you need to take proactive measures to monitor your products’ journey closely to spot any illegal activity.
For example, AlpVision’s Brand Monitoring System (BMS) provides real-time monitoring and data collection to detect and address brand infringement. This system helps companies stay ahead of counterfeiters by providing actionable insights and enforcement capabilities.
By integrating real-time monitoring with data analytics, AlpVision’s BMS offers businesses the ability to respond to infringements quickly, adapt strategies proactively, and maintain the integrity of their brand.
The BMS system integrates with your existing deployments and third-party security solutions. The idea behind the monitoring is to provide comprehensive protection till the product reaches the final sale. Any unusual activity with the product in the supply chain can be identified with BMS easily.
What’s more, this system not only helps in detecting and preventing counterfeit activities but also provides valuable insights into market dynamics and consumer behavior, enhancing overall brand protection efforts.
3. AlpVision Cryptoglyph
AlpVision Cryptoglyph is a unique covert security feature that integrates with your product packaging and labeling to ensure authenticity without altering the product’s appearance. This invisible mark can be easily verified using a smartphone device.
That protects your brand by providing an anti-counterfeit measure which is almost impossible to copy. When customers can identify your product’s authenticity with a simple scan via their smartphones, there are fewer chances of them falling into a counterfeit trap.
Cryptoglyph technology can be applied to any printed product or packaging, for example, cartons, labels, banknotes, and more. For instance, the wine industry can use Cryptoglyph to protect the cork to combat counterfeit wines. Consumers can scan the cork on the bottle to verify its authenticity and learn about its provenance, ensuring they receive genuine products.
4. AlpVision Fingerprint
AlpVision Fingerprint is a unique, invisible anti-counterfeiting technology that uses the product’s intrinsic surface irregularities for authentication, verified through a smartphone’s macro camera. This innovative solution offers a cost-effective and highly secure method for verifying product authenticity.
Unlike traditional security features, AlpVision Fingerprint does not require any additional markings or alterations to the product. This makes it an ideal solution for high-value items such as luxury goods and medical devices, where maintaining the original appearance is important.
Similar to Cryptoglyph, AlpVision Fingerprint has your brand protection as the goal. It’s difficult to replicate by counterfeiters, but easy to identify by users, striking the perfect balance of protection. It can be used in industries like lubricants and tobacco.
5. Secured QR Codes
Secured QR Code is similar to a traditional QR code but with an added layer of security protection. While the QR code is visible, the additional layer is invisible as they are added as micro holes in the code. They are unique and can’t be seen by counterfeiters, not allowing them to counterfeit your products.
AlpVision’s Secured QR Code can be integrated with a track and trace system, allowing you to monitor real-time activities, as well. You can trace the entire lifecycle of a product, from manufacturing to the end consumer. The track and trace system can store detailed information about the product’s origin, journey, and authenticity, which can be accessed by scanning the code with a smartphone.
Securing Your Brand’s Future and Brand Protection with AlpVision
Brand protection is not just a defensive measure; it’s a strategic necessity for maintaining your company’s reputation, customer trust, and financial health. By taking a proactive approach to your brand protection, you save your company any future risk of an easily avoidable legal battle, or worse, reputation damage.
As mentioned, there are many brand protection strategies. But you need to choose the best solution keeping your unique market needs and product details in mind. Our team at AlpVision can help you select the best fit for your company. Read our whitepaper on selecting the best anti-counterfeiting technology to learn more.
Read our Whitepaper