The Label Printers’ was invited to participate at UL’s recent Brand Protection Summit in Los Angeles, CA, USA, as an Interactive Round Table Leader. The Summit included UL “clients, key law enforcement partners, invited guests, and a select number of brand protection service providers/specialists.”

The Label Printers’ topic was “Product Security Solutions – Facing Operational Realities”, and Lori Campbell, The Label Printers’ Chief of Operations was the Round Table Leader.  The keynote speaker for the conference was Todd Rogers, assistant sheriff, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

UL outlined the event’s purpose and benefits in their Registration/Welcome materials: “For over 15 years, UL has taken an aggressive stance against product counterfeiting through a comprehensive program involving enforcement, education and partnerships with key IP crime stakeholders from around the world. As a leader in product safety testing and certification, as well as a rights holder, UL knows the detrimental effects IP crime can have on a company’s resources, reputation and to its corporate goals.”

William J. Kane, chief executive of The Label Printers, thinks the conference holds value to a wide range of organizations and companies interested in the latest information on brand protection. He said, “Between the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office, we always hear really interesting information about cases they’re prosecuting. The FBI is deeply engaged in the investigation and prosecution of [counterfeiting] criminals, and they emphasize how the buyers of counterfeit goods fund terrorists and organized crime. We heard about a really interesting case involving Nike shoes where the counterfeiter’s excuse was ‘I didn’t know’ – which worked the first time, but not the second.” Kane believes there are always excellent speakers at the event, such as Therese Randazzo who is the director of IPR Policy and Programs with US Customs and Border Protection, whose speech at the conference opening on “Effective Enforcement Strategies – Working With Customs and Border Protection” highlighted Customs’ task of inspecting 250,000 packages every day.

Said Campbell about her Round Table, “The workshops and roundtables allowed attendees to engage further with one another on various topics. My roundtable discussion was one of facing operational realities and how to increase the buy-in from departments within one’s organization.”

About the conference in general, Campbell added, “It’s clear that UL’s influence in brand protection and anti-counterfeiting continues to grow, as evidenced by the increasing number of brand owners in attendance that aren’t UL’s direct customers. UL’s Brand Protection Summit continues to improve every year.  I felt there was a distinctly practical approach to all of the key presentations offered to attendees – geared towards educating rights holders on everything from training to Customs inspection and clearance process to investigations to litigation of criminal and civil cases.”

Conference participants included brand owners such as Altria; solution providers such as The Label Printers, and government and law enforcement agencies such as the US Department of Justice, US Customs and Border Protection, INTERPOL, EUROPOL, the FBI, and Homeland Security and many other intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting experts.