Articles published are those of interest to brand protection professionals around the world. It should be understood by the contributor that all articles submitted for consideration are subject to revisions by the editorial team and that the right of publication in any language or alternative form is reserved by the BPP. This is inline with the BPP’s editorial policy to publish articles that are written in a clear and concise style in order to bring the article’s message to the readers. Contributors are encouraged to draw on experience for their articles and to write articles that reflect what is important to brand protection practitioners. Please note that the BPP does not publish articles that are self-promotional or market a product or service available from sources such as a vendor or fee-based organization. It will be up to the sole and absolute discretion of the editorial team to determine whether a submission includes any actual or perceived self-promoting or marketing content. Previous editions of the BPP may be made digitally available by A-CAPP beyond publish date at A-CAPP’s discretion.

Articles should be submitted in Microsoft Word, single-spaced, non-indented, and 12-point font. Features and articles should range from 500 to 1,000 words. The editor in chief may give more specific guidelines to the individual contributors. Please note that our spelling and grammar preferences, except in the case of formal titles, are for U.S. English. Color charts, graphs, or photographs illustrating points in the article should be submitted within the article content for suggested placement as well as separate files. Photographs should be high-resolution and charts and graphs should be the original source file. These visuals are encouraged but may be revised, or not used, to fit the BPP format requirements.  They should only be submitted if they are owned by the contributor, all identifiable people in a photograph have granted transferable rights to the contributor for use of their image, and all rights are acknowledged to be hereby licensed to the BPP for use; or if they are represented to be in the public domain. It is further represented by the contributor that submissions do not include any proprietary and/or confidential information of third parties. Should the BPP receive a claim or threatened claim based on a submission, contributor shall fully indemnify the BPP, A-CAPP, MSU and any individuals working on behalf of the BPP.

The submission should include the title, the author’s name, company or association name, and a professional title. An author’s hi-res color photo should also be included though it may not be used with a published submission. Co-authored submissions must also include statements listing each co-author’s name, title, affiliation, email address, and permission for submission. All authors must sign a Submission Permission and Release form as required by MSU. Submitted articles can be derivatives of previously published articles but the author must disclose this upon submission of the article. Author must also advise if the original article is under review for publication elsewhere. Should a derivative work be considered and/or published in the BPP, the author represents that they own all rights and permissions to allow for its publication and represents that the author/contributor retained rights to publish derivative works under the terms of any publication agreement with a previous publisher of the work.  Authors should notify the editor in chief of any change in affiliation prior to publication.

Please note that endnotes/footnotes that provide additional context are not encouraged because the BPP is not a scholarly journal. However, important facts and resources should be properly referenced, with electronic links provided. For questions on referencing non-electronic resources, or whether a particular statement requires a reference, please consult the editor in chief.

Upon article receipt, the editor in chief reviews the article for content and style and perform any required editing. This process can take significant time. Accordingly, drafts of material are due 40-90 days ahead of publish date. Authors will be notified if they need to make substantive changes to the article and should respond to the editor in chief in a reasonable amount of time upon receipt due to the production schedule. Editorial staff may make minor modifications and edits where necessary without notice to authors. It is at the editor in chief’s absolute discretion to refuse request(s) for revisions and to accept revisions. Contributors will receive final proofs of their articles for review and approval in a Submission Permission and Release form that contributors must sign before publication.

Please be assured that if an article is rejected for inclusion in the BPP, it does not necessarily mean that it is not worthy of publication. It could be that another article covering the same or similar topic has been accepted or published, or that the number of contributions is greater than what can reasonably be accommodated in the journal. The article might also be held for possible future publication covering the topic with the agreement of the author.