A-CAPP and IBC Partnership for Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection Education


The A-CAPP Center and International Business Center at MSU have been long term partners on issues relating to trademark counterfeiting as an international business problem both for larger multinational corporations, and also for small businesses.  In the IBC’s role in international trade exporting, we have collaborated on the education for international trade exporters and small and medium size businesses to understand and weigh the risks of trademark counterfeiting.  With this goal in mind, we have co-sponsored in-person and online events, podcasts, research articles and more.  

With education as an important goal for both A-CAPP Center and IBC, we are excited to be able to offer the Professional Certificate in Brand Protection Courses to the IBC and its college faculty and students at no cost. The certificate is the only one of its kind in the world and is designed to give a holistic overview of the problem and potential solutions and strategies involved in brand protection.  The course was designed for those in the brand protection industry community to get up to speed on this important issue. Over 1,900 courses have been taken by over 100 companies.  

We hope you enjoy the courses and always welcome feedback and suggestions. 

WHO

IS IT FOR?

International Business Center faulty and students

HOW

IS IT OFFERED?

Courses are offered 100% online, are self-paced, and do not expire

HOW

LONG DOES IT TAKE?

Each self-paced course takes 3-5 hours to complete

HOW

MANY COURSES CAN WE TAKE?

IBC faulty: 17 courses
IBC students: 6 courses

WHAT DO I

EARN?

After successful completion of a course, you will receive a certificate of completion and earn the professional certificate after successful completion of all 17 courses

HOW TO

ENROLL?

Visit our e-commerce page and use the coupon code provided to enroll.

Course Pillars and Descriptions

PRODUCT COUNTERFEITING OVERVIEW
ACAPP001-ACAPP003

Intellectual Property Violations Defined
ACAPP001

  • Classify and describe primary intellectual property protections and their respective definitions, relating specifically to US federal law
  • Identify intellectual property infringement
  • Explain the impact of counterfeit goods on industry, society, and consumers

Culture of Product Counterfeiting
ACAPP002

  • Identify how socio-economic conditions affect the production and consumption of counterfeit goods
  • Describe the risk-reward structure of product counterfeiting
  • Examine factors driving production and consumption of counterfeit goods
  • Describe how counterfeiting organizations operate their businesses

Key Organizations and Resources for Brand Protection
ACAPP003

  • Describe the differences between regulatory, industry, academic and professional law enforcement organizations
  • Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement organizations and areas of specialty
  • Identify valuable resources for brand protection within a modern organization

ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES AGAINST COUNTERFEITERS
ACAPP004-ACAPP006

Legal Aspects of Global Counterfeiting
ACAPP004

  • Discuss the legal basis for identifying the violation of product counterfeiting
  • Explore how to protect your brand against counterfeiting through the use of trademark rights
  • Combat counterfeiting through the effective use of enforcement strategies

Partnerships for Brand Protection: Law Enforcement and Custom Agencies
ACAPP005

  • Understand the jurisdictional differences of law enforcement agencies and the laws they enforce
  • Build an effective network of law enforcement partners
  • How to educate and train law enforcement about your brand and products
  • Identify relevant laws and regulations

Conducting Product Counterfeiting Investigations
ACAPP006

  • Understand the elements of an investigation process and utilize basic investigation techniques for counterfeit products
  • Describe how to build an investigation by integrating identified elements of proof with the appropriate standard of evidence
  • Identify the importance of reporting and lead generation and explain how a data management system enhances the investigation process
  • Generate performance metrics used to support investigation activity and provide value to the brand owner

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FOR BRAND PROTECTION
ACAPP007-ACAPP008

Legitimate vs. Illicit Supply Chains
ACAPP007

  • Define segments of the supply chain from raw materials to product placement and understand the possible risk to the brand at each point
  • Discuss and identify relationships between illicit and legitimate supply chains, including: diversion, gray market, unauthorized production, theft, return fraud, and repackaging
  • Describe ways and methods to protect and secure the supply chain

Brand Protection Strategies for Managing Supply Chain Relationships
ACAPP008

  • Explain the goals in selecting a partner
  • Discuss creating the agreement or contract with conditions that aid the brand owner, subject to legal guidance
  • Discuss the value in monitoring and auditing internal processes and third-party partners

ANTI-COUNTERFEITING STRATEGIES
ACAPP009-ACAPP013

Identifying a Brand Protection Team
ACAPP009

  • Identify and discuss roles of a brand protection team • Use the RASIC model to establish team member roles and responsibilities
  • Discuss the contributions and support provided by the internal champions
  • Develop a strategy to secure resources from stakeholders

Identifying Anti-Counterfeiting Tactics and Technologies
ACAPP010

  • Identify strategic objectives of a brand protection program
  • Understand the key factors to consider in selecting the best tactics for a specific product and problem
  • Develop knowledge of the different brand protection technologies

Developing Networks and Counter-Intelligence Strategies for Brand Protection
ACAPP011

  • Learn the criteria for identifying in-country partners within a given industry and the elements of an in-country threat analysis
  • Identify context-specific strategies for gathering counter-intelligence data and understand why it is important to safeguard anti-counterfeiting strategies
  • Understand the value of benchmarking against other brands

Market Intelligence: Identifying Counterfeit Products
ACAPP012

  • Describe relevant market structures and how counterfeit products infiltrate them
  • Discuss how to protect against the presence of counterfeits, develop skills that can be used for gathering of information, and assess the problem before taking action
  • How to utilize external and internal partners in detecting, assessing, and acting against counterfeiters in the marketplace

Global Management and Enforcement of Trademark Rights
ACAPP013

  • Discuss the importance of a company’s intellectual property
  • Identify strategies to manage intellectual property
  • Discuss the importance of collaboration in the protection of company trademarks
  • Identify strategies for managing intellectual property globally, including in the EU, China, India, UAE

COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION FOR BRAND PROTECTION
ACAPP007-ACAPP008, ACAPP014

Legitimate vs. Illicit Supply Chains
ACAPP007

  • Define segments of the supply chain from raw materials to product placement and understand the possible risk to the brand at each point
  • Discuss and identify relationships between illicit and legitimate supply chains, including: diversion, gray market, unauthorized production, theft, return fraud, and repackaging
  • Describe ways and methods to protect and secure the supply chain

Brand Protection Strategies for Managing Supply Chain Relationships
ACAPP008

  • Explain the goals in selecting a partner
  • Discuss creating the agreement or contract with conditions that aid the brand owner, subject to legal guidance
  • Discuss the value in monitoring and auditing internal processes and third-party partners

Brand Protection Communications: Training and Strategies
ACAPP014

  • Design an internal communications plan to raise brand protection awareness of employees and strategic partners
  • Develop strategies for external strategic communication with law enforcement, business partners, and consumers

RISK MANAGEMENT FOR BRAND PROTECTION
ACAPP015-ACAPP017

Protect or Perish
ACAPP015

  • Define and understand the need and implications for conducting a risk assessment for counterfeit product
  • Identify organization and industry specific standards
  • Describe the influence of geographic location on regulatory compliance and customary practices

Prioritizing Brand Protection: Analytics and Risk Management
ACAPP016

  • Develop and implement an internal process for resources prioritization that responds to the identified risk of counterfeit products and describe the implications
  • Determine what data to collect, analyze, and measure to reduce risk of counterfeit products
  • Discuss how to execute risk assessment for counterfeit products and analyze results

Anti-Counterfeiting Incident Management
ACAPP017

  • Define reliable sources of information, and determine how to compile, characterize, and organize it
  • Evaluate incident related data to identify company risks, counterfeiting trends and patterns, and determine root causes
  • Determine opportunities for enhancement of the current state
  • Document incidents and learnings, and communicate revisions in processes and practices with information sources

*Courses must be completed within 6 months of enrollment. Individuals will receive a certificate of completion for each course that is successfully completed. To be successful, participants must receive a 70% or better on the end of course assessment. Participants who fail to achieve 70% or better may retake the course upon request once. Once all 17 courses have been successfully completed, participants will receive their Certificate in Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection.