Dear Brand Protection Professionals:

Well, we are almost done with 2020, and I know we are all happy to see it go! 

In this edition of the BPP, we examine how the COVID pandemic has influenced brand protection and how we move forward in our practices to address the changed landscape into a new year. Accordingly, this edition includes several enlightening articles: “Purchasing Medicines Online: What the Data Reveals on the Need for a Shift in Communication Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic”; “Uncertainty and the Brand Protection Landscape: Reinforcing Practical Foundations and Strategies”; “The Rocks are Exposed: COVID Effects on Supply Chain”, “Risk of Cyber Superspreaders and Influencers on Product Integrity: COVID-19 and Beyond”; and “A Pandemic, a Treatment, and the Impact to a Brand Protection Program”.

Additionally, in a multimedia piece, one of our talented A-CAPP student intern interviews the panelist from the first Brand’s New World virtual event to share updates and expansion on their thoughts surrounding the dark web. From the previous Temperature Test poll we hear about shifts in online enforcement budgets due to COVID and our new poll inquires as to whether BP practitioners are monitoring influencers for threats to their brands. Lastly, we include a link to a recent white paper from Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council (A2C2) and I lend my personal thoughts to it through a COVID-Era lens.  

The BPP’s mission is to provide our readers with relevant material “to advance brand protection through the establishment of an accessible, comprehensive forum containing essential information for the brand protection community.” Please, always feel free to contact me directly at leahevertburks@gmail.com.

Leah Evert-Burks
Editor in Chief & Industry Fellow
Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection
Michigan State University

Editorial Board

  • Saleem Alhabash
    Associate Professor
    Advertising and Public Relations
    College of Communication Arts and Sciences, MSU
  • Leah Evert-Burks
    Editor in Chief and Industry Fellow
    A-CAPP Center, MSU
  • Jeff Rojek
    Director
    A-CAPP Center, MSU
    Associate Professor

    School of Criminal Justice, MSU
  • Jade Sims
    Assistant Director
    International Trade Programs International Business Center
    Eli Broad College of Business, MSU
  • Tara Steketee
    Director, Product Integrity
    Global Security Group
    Merck & Co., Inc.
  • Vivian Vassallo
    Senior Director
    Intellectual Property & Enforcement
    Dolby Laboratories

BPP Staff

  • Leah Evert-Burks
    Editor in Chief and Industry Fellow
    A-CAPP Center, MSU
  • Sara Heeg
    Managing Editor and Business Manager
    A-CAPP Center, MSU
  • Jocelyn Tucker
    Communications Coordinator
    A-CAPP Center, MSU

RETURN TO ISSUE HOMEPAGE

THE BRAND PROTECTION PROFESSIONAL | DECEMBER 2020 | VOLUME 5 NUMBER 4
COPYRIGHT 2020 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES