Professional Certificate in Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection

The Professional Certificate in Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection from the A-CAPP Center is a comprehensive training program designed to teach the skills and knowledge professionals need to be efficient, proactive and strategic in brand protection. Designed from direct experience and feedback from the top protection professionals from around the world, the A-CAPP Center employs an evidence based approach for its certificate that provides core concepts and competencies needed to become a brand protection professional who is better prepared to face the legal, business, strategic and security challenges of your industry.

Course Pillars

PRODUCT COUNTERFEITING OVERVIEW
ACAPP001-ACAPP003
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES AGAINST COUNTERFEITERS
ACAPP004-ACAPP006
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FOR BRAND PROTECTION
ACAPP007-ACAPP008
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING STRATEGIES
ACAPP009-ACAPP013
COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION FOR BRAND PROTECTION
ACAPP007-ACAPP008, ACAPP014
RISK MANAGEMENT FOR BRAND PROTECTION
ACAPP015-ACAPP017

Course Offerings and Descriptions

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$250.00

Protect or Parish
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
$250.00

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
$250.00

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
$19
Individual Course
FEE PER COURSE
$
250.00
Enroll
17 Course
Certificate Bundle
FEE PER COURSE
$
220.59
  • 11.8% savings
Enroll
Other Discounts
  • CORPORATE
    15%-30%
  • GOVERNMENT
    Military, Federal, State
    15%
Contact Us

*There is no expiration date to complete the course once enrolled. 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 for a $100 fee. Once all 17 courses have been successfully completed, participants will receive their Certificate in Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection. Refunds will not be issued after enrollment.

Do I need to register for all 17 courses?

No. You have the ability to customize the mix of courses you take.  You will receive a certificate of completion for each course that you take. However, in order to receive the Professional Certificate, you need to take all 17 courses. There is also a discount for the full certificate course purchase.

How much time will it take?

The certificate is 17 courses and each self-paced course take 3-5 hours to complete on average. There is no expiration date to complete the course.

How and where are the courses offered?

The courses are entirely online.  You can take them from anywhere in the world where you have Internet access.

Who are the instructors?

There are no instructors for these courses, as they are fully online and self-guided.  Once you are enrolled in a course, you can take it at your own pace over the 16 week access period.

Our courses were designed by A-CAPP Center subject matter experts who have worked in various industries in the field of brand protection, researchers and academics in brand protection, and course designers.

Who should I contact with questions?

All questions can be directed to Kari at kkammel@msu.edu and Sara at heegsar1@msu.edu.