Our anti - counterfeit solutions - think big and start small

Product and brand value protection are combined and orchestrated measures that limit the ability of counterfeiters to bring falsified or stolen products onto the market. It is not limited to a channel and covers online marketplaces as well as traditional brick-and-mortars. Of even greater importance is the protection of sensitive information by eliminating security gaps in the relevant processes.

All product and brand protection measures can be assigned to one of three categories. These include legal measures, such as IP and brand registrations, prosecution and enforcement of rights, process-related measures such as the integration and control of processes across internal and external stakeholders to prevent the leakage of sensitive information, and protective measures such as internet searches and the application of adequate protection on physical products. Measures of all categories are mutually reinforcing and equally important in your fight against counterfeiters.      

Through intelligent utilization of data, product protection and marketing become complementary elements and not opposing forces, thus leveraging the benefit of investments in brand protection in marketing. The product flow, from production all the way to the customer’s hand, give you insights into unique market data that allow you to develop marketing-relevant knowledge. Anti-counterfeit measures demand a well thought-out, strategic approach. Product protection can be implemented visibly or out of view. Depending on the strategy, several interaction possibilities can be used to engage with the customers.

Most product protection solutions are based on a single feature. Whatever the feature is, it has a specific range of applicability which can be wider or more narrow, depending on the feature. In addition, features differ in the level of protection they provide as well as in how invasive they are to your existing processes in their use, application and recognition. While most of the solutions are isolated, significant advantages can be achieved form integrated solutions.

Protection operates on a principle of securely confirming the existence of an authentic mark. A confusing variety of mechanisms exist. The mark applied to the product can be visible, or invisible, passive or active. Mechanisms may further differ in the way they can be verified: by consumers, experts or forensics, online or offline, digitally, visually by the customer or automatically and more. Our expertise is there to help you choose a tailor-made protection solution without having to evaluate features.

The majority of counterfeits can be rather easily distinguished from a genuine product when both are compared side by side and you know which one is the original. Unfortunately, this is pretty seldom the case. Product protection and brand value protection solutions detect specific product features with which genuine products can be authenticated. If the product is not authenticated it might be a counterfeit.

In order to sustainably protect your brand, a bundle of coordinated measures is required. In addition to securing the underlying rights, the same steps are always used to build effective protection of your brand, independent of the marketplace: information on the situation, setting up of protective measures and enforcement of the law. These steps protect both online and physical marketplaces against counterfeiting, but just as important is the protection of relevant processes along the value chain.

Criminals make an effort to produce almost identical counterfeits. To protect your product, you need two kinds of protection. You must actively protect the processes and data of everyone involved in the creation, packaging, transportation, distribution of the products, and you must use a feature that allows you to distinguish your product from counterfeits.

Once the underlying rights have been secured, the brand name will be defended in legal disputes. But this does not prevent the brand value from being undermined, as this depends on the consumer's sense of trust. That's why you need to focus your brand protection strategy on protecting the customer. You accomplish this by making sure that customers can rely on receiving the genuine product.

Brand and product protection can start silently with the aim of gaining more information about the facts. Depending on the situation, verification information can be obtained via a customer loyalty program or active communication via values (Trust & Care) can be targeted. Communication is always a sensitive matter. Factors that help to define target-oriented communication are, for example, user groups who are to carry out the verifications, whether they are experts or consumers, as well as market features, customer awareness and brand loyalty.

One should never forget that, as with other security and protection solutions, there is no 100% reliability. The reliability of brand protection solutions depends, among other things, on the technology used, the complexity and thus the impediments to imitation, the requirements for providing the protection, environmental influences and the handling by the verification users. Under these conditions, the aim is to find a balance with which the greatest possible effect can be achieved in the fight against counterfeits and to protect the value of the brand.  

Product protection and brand value protection solutions recognize specific product markings to authenticate genuine products. Depending on the marking technology, a specialized device is required or a smartphone device with an app can be utilized. If the product can be authenticated, it indicates that product does meet one’s expectation of an origin product. Otherwise it might be an expired, stolen or counterfeit product.