The Label Printers’ chief executive, Bill Kane, and chief of operations, Lori Campbell, recently returned from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they attended the 2015 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference, co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Ministry of Security, Argentina, in Partnership with Underwriters Laboratories, the conference sponsor and co-organizer. The Label Printers served as a Platinum Sponsor of the Conference, which brought together hundreds of attendees from around the world, representing the law enforcement community, IP and brand owners, anti-counterfeiting solution providers, and others interested in combating the global menace of counterfeiting and piracy. There were 600 attendees from 18 countries at the conference.

The conference theme – “Future Threats 2020 – Tools for Mitigating the Risk” – reflects the goals as explained in secretary general of INTERPOL Jürgen Stock’s, Welcoming Comments, “Today’s criminals are constantly evolving, updating their methods and modes of operation in an effort to stay ahead of law enforcement. That is why we too must evolve and anticipate the possible developments of IP crime in the future. Through in-depth discussions and sharing strategies on important topics, such as emerging trends, training initiatives, risk assessments and internet-based IP crime, the IP Crime Conference serves to build upon and enhance existing capabilities to combat these transnational crimes.”

UL President and CEO Keith Williams’ Welcoming Comments referenced the rapid change of technology and the challenges that change has created for law enforcement agencies and private companies in their fight against counterfeiting and piracy crimes.  “In order to maximize our impact against these adaptive and sophisticated criminal networks, we must utilize every tool at our disposal, working in partnerships across national borders,” he said. “This Conference is one of the best weapons we have in our arsenal to share best practices and skills, and to create networks to empower public and private sector partners.  Together we can mitigate the consequences surrounding these illegal activities.”

The 2015 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference featured plenary sessions, operational workshops, interactive round tables sessions and specialized/certified training sessions. Campbell was the leader of Interactive Roundtable 1 – “Cost effective Use of Brand Protection Solutions in Labeling and Packaging.”

“Buenos Aires welcomed us with open arms,” said Kane. “Their [ministry of security] took care of us as guests.” Campbell seconded his remarks, adding that “there was also a significant media presence for the opening remarks and plenary sessions – it was obviously a big deal for Argentina to be hosting the conference.”

Kane hailed the conference as “the best show yet from the standpoint of communication – giving us the opportunity to meet new people with a possible impact on our business.” The conference designed the Exhibit Hall to give delegates the opportunity to meet one-on-one with each other…to discuss operational matters, seek specialist advice, and provide and receive product identification training.  Kane added, “for companies like The Label Printers, who supply anti-counterfeiting solutions, having the opportunity to listen to the conference’s multi-national speakers – who are very knowledgeable people doing a very difficult job – and interact with so many people from around the world who are focused on the same objective, is key.”

Campbell noted that the workshops, roundtables, plenary and networking sessions gave attendees a host of opportunities to learn. “We heard from Sergio Berni, the secretary of security for the Argentine Republic, and Axel Kiciloff, minister of economy for Argentina. Mr. Kiciloff discussed the importance of IP, especially in light of what he called a very ‘dynamic’ criminal element, operating in an environment with ‘lots of moving parts’. One of the major conference messages for me was that there are three things becoming more impactful, from which we haven’t yet seen the fallout – 3D printing, bitcoins and drones.”

Campbell’s roundtable included a challenge to solution providers from one of the brand owners at the conference to find low cost solutions to brand protection. Campbell said that her roundtable experience hit home a very important point for companies such as The Label Printers. “We have to figure out how to communicate that brand protection is not hideously expensive and that we need to measure the cost of the problem, in addition to the cost of the packaging.” 

She felt that one of the important elements of the conference was the opportunity that it gave to attendees to select small forums to network with others on given topics. “There are a variety of roundtable discussions and workshops during the conference, and attendees can sit in on more than one.”

Kane and Campbell both agreed that this conference, now in its’ ninth year is special in its focus and deliverables.  Said Kane, “We have developed contacts with many people involved in the fight against anti-counterfeiting. And it’s not just the contacts but the opportunity to get to know attendees at a level that allows us to become resources for each other.” Campbell added, “Even though there is a very large group of people attending the conference, it is fundamentally a very tightknit group of people from all over the world, who are all engaged in the effort to fight against the theft of Intellectual Property and the threats and impacts represented by that theft and the criminals behind it.”