Brand Protection and Intellectual Property

Protecting your company's brand is a challenge in today's competitive international market. The laws in many countries facilitate counterfeiting, product piracy, gray markets and the transport of these goods. These goods end up in the chain of commerce and affect the ability of legitimate companies to compete. Legitimate companies lose revenue due to consumers purchasing the counterfeit product. Consumers lose because in almost all cases the product produced is substandard and may not even work. The legitimate company loses again when the consumer who purchased the counterfeit product blames the company. Finally, the government loses due to a loss in tax revenue which the legitimate company would have paid as a result of selling their products.

BD Consulting and Investigations provides many different Brand Protection services to our clients. These specific services are driven by the needs of our clients and include market research, test purchases, evidence processing and many others. Some of the areas which impact on a company's brand include those areas shown below:

Counterfeited or Pirated Products

Pirated and/or counterfeited products continue to be a growing problem in the areas of Movies, Music, Software, Games, Jewelry, Luggage, Watches, Sunglasses and other personal care products. Generally, if there is a demand for a particular product, then it is most likely that the product has either already been counterfeited or will be counterfeited. Many times these products are counterfeited and then shipped into the United States.

Counterfeit Aircraft parts, Auto Parts, Pharmaceuticals and other critical products have the potential to create large scale product liability until a Corporation can prove that the product was a counterfeit item. Unfortunately, even after providing proof that the part or product was counterfeit, the corporation receives negative press. Steps taken at the beginning to manage the corporate image can determine how the company is viewed in the marketplace.

Few law enforcement agencies have the knowledge, ability or staff to investigate this type of crime, unless an injury or death occurs. The actions taken by a corporation to investigate counterfeit products in the market place, before a negative event occurs and targeting those persons involved in the manufacture and distribution of the products can help mitigate negative press or product liability arising out of the failure of a counterfeited product.

BD Consulting and Investigations Inc. has helped our clients develop strategies for minimizing counterfeited or pirated products and provided investigative support in preparing cases for criminal or civil prosecution.

Trade Secret Thefts

Research and Development funds are spent to develop new software, technologies, processes, information, or techniques which may be Trade Secrets. These Trade Secrets are susceptible to being stolen by your most trusted employees or other parties and could eventually find its way into the hands of your competitor. The actions taken by a corporation to secure their Trade Secrets before a theft occurs have a large impact on whether a case will be successfully prosecuted either civilly or criminally.

BD Consulting and Investigations Inc. provides assistance to corporations by developing plans and processes to protect their Trade Secrets. Each organization and the information to be protected is different. Protecting a company's Trade Secrets requires conducting an assessment, developing a plan to protect the information, periodic assessments to ensure that the information is being protected, the resources to protect the information and training for those employees or contractors with access to the information.

The theft of a corporation's Trade Secrets is critical event. The steps taken to investigate the theft can determine whether the information is recovered and if recovered, whether the person who took the information can be prosecuted civilly or criminally. BD Consulting and Investigations Inc. provides assistance at any stage of an investigation to help recover the stolen information and prosecute those responsible.

Patent, Copyright or Trademark Licensing Issues

A new technology, product, idea or process is patented or a trademark registered which is easily identifiable as a product of your corporation. Corporations or individuals license their patents and receive payment in the form of royalties. Licensing strategies and agreements are developed to generate revenue and ensure that the product or trademark is not used by other companies without authorization.

How a company manages and audits its licensing programs determines whether a licensed company complies with the agreement and payment of royalties. Unlicensed companies may use the patented products owned by a corporation without payment of the royalties. This gives them a competitive advantage over licensed companies. The actions taken by a corporation in the form of audits, investigative market research and other actions help determine if a licensee is paying the appropriate royalties or whether another company is using the product or trademark without authorization.

BD Consulting and Investigations Inc. has helped our clients, through audits and other means increase their royalty payments from licensees and identify those companies which are not licensed.

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