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Please enjoy our latest newsletter to help keep you up-to-date on the activities of the Center.
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THE A-CAPP CENTER TO HOST THIRD ANNUAL BRAND PROTECTION STRATEGY SUMMIT
The A-CAPP Center will hold its third annual Brand Protection Strategy Summit on Tuesday, October 3, and Wednesday, October 4. This year's sessions, to be held at Lansing Center, will focus on
- E-Commerce: What challenges and opportunities does
E-commerce pose?
- Partnerships: How can partnerships promote brand integrity?
- ROI: How can we measure the value of brand protection programs?
The summit provides a forum to facilitate open, collaborative and attendee-led conversations on brand protection with brand owners, law enforcement, government, and academia. Also, the A-CAPP research lab will showcase some of the Center's ongoing projects and student interns.
The Annual Reception will be held on October 3 from 6 p.m. to 9:30pm at the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum. This museum showcases Lansing, Michigan's rich transportation history with more than 60 vehicles from 1886-2003.
Sponsors of the 2017 summit include UL, L Brands, Johnson & Johnson, Western Union, Amazon, and Avaya.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the summit and to register.
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PROFESSIONAL BRAND PROTECTION CERTIFICATE PROGRAM TO LAUNCH
This fall, the A-CAPP Center will launch its Professional Brand Protection Certificate program, with 17 short modules on brand protection for practitioners.
Today, most businesses are reactionary to brand protection risk and don't realize they are a victim until an issue has already occurred. These courses will provide individuals with the tools they need to be more proactive in preparing for, combating, and responding to brand protection incidents.
All courses
- Are self-guided
- Offered online
- Can be taken individually
- Take three to four hours to complete
- Available throughout the year from any country (though currently only in English)
Stay up-to-date on this new and exciting certificate.
CLICK HERE to sign up for more information and be the first to know when the modules are live and enrolling.
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DR. XUEMEI BIAN OF UNIVERSITY OF KENT VISITS
A-CAPP CENTER
Dr. Xuemei Bian is a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Kent Business School and is the Director of Studies for the BSc Marketing Programme. She has an undergraduate degree in International business, an MSc in Management Research, and a Ph.D. in Marketing. Her main research areas focus on consumption behavior of counterfeit products, and advertising and consumer behavior, focusing on the effects of model features, brand/product judgment, consumer well-being, and behavioral tendency. The A-CAPP Center had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Xuemei Bian speak about her research in behavior surrounding counterfeiting and how it relates to the efforts made here at the Center.
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(L to R): Noreen Abdelhamid, Justin Hadden, Scott Turner, Brandon Sullivan, Xuemei Bian, Zhouyi Xu, Asia Campbell, and Jeremy Wilson
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U.S. CHAMBER SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON STATE
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING ENFORCEMENT
The A-CAPP Center recently collaborated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Global Intellectual Property Center on U.S. state-level anti-counterfeiting enforcement research. This work stems from our examination of anti-counterfeiting legislation, which focused on the similarities and differences in characteristics, remedies, and penalties of both civil and criminal statutes of all fifty U.S. states. The current research focuses on the enforcement of those statutes. Kari Kammel and Dr. Brandon Sullivan examined both conviction statistics and criminal caselaw. They found that enforcement levels are widely inconsistent from state to state, with few states actively using their statutes for criminal prosecutions. A report detailing these findings is forthcoming. Several of our students aided in carrying out this project including: Lorryn Young (Law), Ross Militz (MS, Criminal Justice), Matt Maher (Criminal Justice, '17), and Aria Holley (Humanities/Pre-Law).
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FORD SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON CYBERSECURITY THREATS
Together with Dr. Betty Cheng (Computer Science and Engineering) and Dr. Tom Holt (Criminal Justice), Dr. Jay Kennedy was awarded a multi-year grant from a major automotive company to conduct research related to autonomous and connected vehicles. Specifically, this project will develop an understanding of cybersecurity-specific threats to connected vehicles, identify opportunities cyber criminals may be most likely to exploit, and develop practical and policy relevant recommendations to prevent, detect, and mitigate threats and opportunities.
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MSU GRANT SUPPORTS "BIG DATA" PROJECT ON ILLICIT PRODUCT LISTINGS
Together with Dr. Hairong Li (Communications and Media Arts) and Dr. Jiliang Tang (Engineering), Dr. Jay Kennedy was awarded a research seed grant from the Center for Business and Social Analytics at Michigan State University to conduct research on Chinese e-commerce websites. Through the development of an adaptive and predictive algorithm and the collection of large amounts of information from e-commerce sites, this "big data" research project aims to develop a set of web-based tools that can assist in the early identification of potentially illicit product listings. Additionally, the data collected will allow the team to identify product- and messaging-specific trends that develop across the range of illicit goods promoted through these websites. Dr. Kennedy is being assisted by A-CAPP summer intern Zhuoyi Xu.
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SOCIAL MEDIA ADS FOR GENUINE AND COUNTERFEIT PRODUCT
Dr. Saleem Alhabash (Public Relations and Social Media) and Dr. Brandon Sullivan are conducting another wave of data collection with students on ads for counterfeit MSU apparel on social media platforms. Preliminary results suggest respondents are usually able to distinguish between counterfeit and genuine products in the mock Facebook ads. They also expressed more favorable attitudes toward the ad and brand when viewing ads for genuine products and were less likely to purchase the counterfeit, although they were nearly as likely to share both the counterfeit and genuine ads on social media. Further results will be published in a journal article and an A-CAPP Center backgrounder.
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NATIVE AMERICAN JEWELRY ON E-COMMERCE SITES
With the assistance of A-CAPP student intern Asia Campbell, Dr. Kennedy is currently collecting preliminary data to investigate the structure of activities related to the distribution, wholesale and retail sale of jewelry labeled as Native American in origin through e-commerce sites. This project will ultimately become a test of the criminological theory "Social Structure-Social Learning."
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COMPARING CIGARETTES SOLD ONLINE AND IN STORES
Dr. Jay Kennedy is currently collecting data for the first phase of a multi-phase investigation into the sale and distribution of cigarettes through the Internet. The goal of the current study phase is to gather detailed information about websites that offer cigarettes for sale to American consumers. The second phase of this study will involve a series of chemical forensic analyses that will be used to compare the products offered on these sites to legitimate cigarettes sold in stores. The third and final phase of the study will be an experimental investigation of the factors that have the greatest influence on consumer decision-making will be undertaken.
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A-CAPP CENTER STAFF AND PARTNER NEWS
ADVISORY BOARD
Dean Brocious, an Associate Vice President for Global Compliance Services at L Brands, has joined the A-CAPP Center Industry Advisory Board. Dean has three decades of experience with L Brands, with expertise in loss prevention and internal investigations, among other skills. L Brands, based in Columbus, Ohio, is an international company selling lingerie, personal care and beauty products, and apparel and accessories through its Victoria's Secret, Pink Bath & Body Works, La Senza, and Henri Bendel labels.
Additionally, Bill Ross,
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Deputy Director at the National IPR Center will be working with the Center Industry Advisory Board as the HSI's Official Liaison. Bill has 30 years of investigative and management experience with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its legacy agency, U.S. Customs Service. Bill's first assignment at HSI Headquarters was as a Unit Chief at the National IPR Center overseeing both the IP and Global Outreach and Training Units. During this time, he led the development of several key HSI programs including Operation In Our Sites, targeting websites selling counterfeit merchandise; the development of Operation Chain Reaction, targeting counterfeit items entering the government and critical infrastructure supply chains; and the creation of the Federal Acquisition Counterfeit Awareness Training course. Bill began his career as a U.S. Customs Service Special Agent, serving for twenty years in the Charleston, S.C. area conducting criminal investigations involving intellectual property, commercial fraud, money laundering, narcotics smuggling, counter-proliferation, and anti-terrorism.
Many thanks to members of our board for helping us to fulfill our vision of being an international hub for evidence-based anti-counterfeit strategy and offering cutting-edge translational research programs and outreach activities.
STUDENT INTERNS/EXTERNS
Our internship program is continuing with a team of six new interns all from different backgrounds and areas of study. Zhouyi Xu is a master's student in marketing research focusing on the impact of counterfeit crime and research on Chinese e-commerce. Justin Hadden is a third-year law student examining the statutes to support the Michigan civil and criminal laws pertaining to counterfeit goods. He is also working on social media and e-commerce implications of product counterfeiting. Megan Vindischman is a senior criminal justice student working on prosecutors' perspectives on IP crime, the product counterfeit database, and helping prepare for Brand Protection Strategy Summit. Noreen Abdelhamid is a senior majoring in criminal justice. She is working on the product counterfeit database while also helping to take down unlicensed MSU products on the IACC MarketSafe project. Asia Campbell is a senior criminal justice major with a minor in security management. She is pinpointing certain trends in the sales marketing of non-authentic Native American jewelry. Scott Turner is a senior packaging major, working on the product counterfeit database and the MarketSafe project.
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TEAM FEATURE
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NICK MCLAREN
Nick McLaren is the senior director of development and alumni relations for the College of Social Science at Michigan State University (MSU).
An alumnus of MSU, Nick is a loyal Spartan both personally and professionally with over 17 years of direct fundraising and management experience. Prior to his current position, he served the College of Social Science as its first associate director of development from 2008 to 2012. His other positions have included director of development for the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University, assistant director of development for MSU's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and assistant director of Annual Giving at MSU.
Nick works directly with Dr. Jeremy Wilson to build relationships with alumni, friends and corporations interested in supporting the outreach and research within the center. He has been working with A-CAPP since the start of the program.
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RECENT ACTIVITIES
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Rod Kinghorn spoke to the Oakland County Alumni Association at the Bloomfield Township Library about the A-CAPP Center and its research on April 27.
Rod Kinghorn also presented to the "Diversion Share Group," hosted by Pat Coates of Kellogg, about the A-CAPP Center and its research on May 4.
Jay Kennedy and Brandon Sullivan visited the USPTO China Road Shows in June (see main article).
Jay Kennedy recently taught the Center's online summer courses, Introduction to Product Counterfeiting and Understanding Product Counterfeiting
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Visit the A-CAPP Center staff at these upcoming events.
International Law Enforcement IP
Crime Conference
August 28-29, 2017
New York, New York
A-CAPP Center Brand Protection Strategy Summit October 3-4, 2017
Lansing, Michigan
IACC Annual
Fall Conference
October 18-20, 2017
Marina del Rey, California
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EDUCATION
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EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
The A-CAPP Center offers custom training programs for a variety of companies in brand protection. These custom programs fit every company's needs when it comes to the challenges of responding to counterfeit goods and product protection issues. As the first and preeminent academic body focusing on the complex global issues of anti-counterfeiting and product protection, our education team will follow a five-step customizable program to help your company develop and strengthen your brand protection. Our programs are part of our larger mission of pursuing cutting edge research projects, sharing new solutions to brand protection challenges as developed through evidence-based research, and providing thought leadership and education in the area of brand protection. For further information, contact Kari Kammel, assistant director of outreach and education, at
[email protected] or (517) 353-2163.
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OTHER NEWS
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Jay Kennedy accepted a joint tenure-stream position with the A-CAPP Center and Criminal Justice. Congratulations Jay!
Congratulations also to our former interns who recently graduated! They are Matt Maher (Bachelors, Criminal Justice), Kaitlyn McCullough (Bachelors, Criminal Justice), Devin McClenton (Bachelors, Criminal Justice), Kathleen Refior (Bachelors, Marketing), Graham Raby (Bachelors, Criminal Justice), Kayla Weaver (Bachelors, Chemistry), and Florence Uwimbabazi (Masters, Public Relations).
Former intern Jun (Chris) Zhen recently passed the Michigan bar exam. Chris has two law degrees, one from MSU College of Law and one from China and is fluent in Mandarin and is currently looking for career opportunities in international law firms and companies. Congratulations Chris!
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A-CAPP CENTER RESEARCHERS VISIT USPTO CHINA ROAD SHOW
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(L to R): Conrad Wong, Kari Kammel, Brandon Sullivan, Asia Campbell, Scott Turner, Megan Vindischman, Noreen Abdelhamid, Justin Hadden
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Leaders on intellectual property (IP) from academia, industry, the legal private sector, and the U.S. government were brought together with policymakers at the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) China Intellectual Property Road Show in Grand Rapids. Speakers shared their expertise on IP issues so as to assist current and future U.S. IP rights holders in obtaining and enforcing IP rights in China and protecting their brands in Chinese markets. The event touched on five different areas of IP protection: creating and managing an IP portfolio; brand protection/anti-counterfeiting; enforcing intellectual property rights in the United States; U.S./China: competition and collaboration-the Michigan experience; and USPTO resources for China IP. Both Dr. Jay Kennedy and Dr. Brandon Sullivan spoke about the efforts made in brand protection and anti-counterfeiting. Ranging from case studies to examinations of legal statutes to research findings, the information provided at the Road Show ensured that every attendee left with a useful body of knowledge regarding IP issues both in China and around the world.
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS
The
Brand Protection Professional
Brand Protection Internships: A Wise Business Decision, article in
The Brand Protection Professional
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