The Label Printers a Platinum Sponsor of the 2015 International Law Enforcement IP Crime Conference

Aurora, IL, October 13, 2015 (Newswire.com) - The Label Printers’ Chief Executive, Bill Kane, and Chief of Operations, Lori Campbell recently returned from Buenos Aires, Argentina where they attended the 2015 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference – co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Ministry of Security, Argentina, in Partnership with Underwriters Laboratories, the conference sponsor and co-organizer. The Label Printers was a Platinum Sponsor of the Conference, which brought together hundreds of attendees from around the world, representing the law enforcement community, IP and brand owners, anti-counterfeiting solution providers, and others interested in combating the global menace of counterfeiting and piracy.  There were 600 attendees from 18 countries at the conference.

The conference theme – “Future Threats 2020 – Tools for Mitigating the Risk” – reflects the goals as explained in Secretary General of INTERPOL, Jürgen Stock’s, Welcoming Comments, “Today’s criminals are constantly evolving, updating their methods and modes of operation in an effort to stay ahead of law enforcement.  That is why we too must evolve and anticipate the possible developments of IP crime in the future.  Through in-depth discussions and sharing strategies on important topics such as emerging trends, training initiatives, risk assessments and internet-based IP crime, the IP Crime Conference serves to build upon and enhance existing capabilities to combat these transnational crimes.”

UL President and CEO Keith Williams’ Welcoming Comments referenced the rapid change of technology and the challenges that change has created for law enforcement agencies and private companies in their fight against counterfeiting and piracy crimes.  He said, “In order to maximize our impact against these adaptive and sophisticated criminal networks we must utilize every tool at our disposal, working in partnerships across national borders.  This Conference is one of the best weapons we have in our arsenal to share best practices and skills and to create networks to empower public and private sector partners.  Together we can mitigate the consequences surrounding these illegal activities.”

The 2015 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference featured plenary sessions, operational workshops, interactive round tables sessions, and specialized/certified training sessions.  Campbell was the leader of Interactive Roundtable 1 – “Cost effective Use of Brand Protection Solutions in Labeling and Packaging”.

Kane applauded the host country.  “Buenos Aires welcomed us with open arms.  Their [Ministry of Security] took care of us as guests,” and Campbell seconded his remarks, adding that “there was also a significant media presence for the opening remarks and plenary sessions – it was obviously a big deal for Argentina to be hosting the conference.”

Kane hailed the conference as “the best show yet from the standpoint of communication – giving us the opportunity to meet new people with a possible impact on our business.”  The conference designed the Exhibit Hall to give delegates the opportunity to meet one-on-one with each other, to discuss operational matters, seek specialist advice and provide and receive product identification training.  Kane added, “for companies like The Label Printers who supply anti-counterfeiting solutions, having the opportunity to listen to the conference’s multi-national speakers – who are very knowledgeable people doing a very difficult job – and interact with so many people from around the world who are focused on the same objective, is key.”

Campbell noted that the workshops, roundtables, plenary and networking sessions gave attendees a host of opportunities to learn.  “We heard from Sergio Berni, the Secretary of Security for the Argentine Republic, and Axel Kiciloff, Minister of Economy for Argentina.  Mr. Kiciloff discussed the importance of IP, especially in light of what he called a very ‘dynamic’ criminal element, operating in an environment with ‘lots of moving parts’.  One of the major conference messages for me was that there are three things becoming more impactful, from which we haven’t yet seen the fallout – 3D printing, bitcoins, and drones.”

Campbell’s Roundtable included a challenge to solution providers from one of the brand owners at the conference to find low cost solutions to brand protection.  Campbell said that her roundtable experience hit home a very important point for companies such as The Label Printers.  “We have to figure out how to communicate that brand protection is not hideously expensive, and that we need to measure the cost of the problem, in addition to the cost of the packaging.” 

She felt that one of the important elements of the conference was the opportunity that it gave to attendees to select small forums to network with others on given topics.  She said, “there are a variety of roundtable discussions and workshops during the conference, and attendees can sit in on more than one.”

Kane and Campbell both agreed that this conference, now in its’ ninth year is unique in its focus and deliverables.  Said Kane, “We have developed contacts with many people involved in the fight against anti-counterfeiting.  And it’s not just the contacts but the opportunity to get to know attendees at a level that allows us to become resources for each other.” Campbell added, “Even though there is a very large group of people attending the conference, it is fundamentally a very tightknit group of people from all over the world, who are all engaged in the effort to fight against the theft of Intellectual Property and the threats and impacts represented by that theft and the criminals behind it.”

More information about the 2015 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference may be found on UL’s web site, http://ul.com/offerings/manufacturers/global-security-brand-protection/events/international-law-enforcement-ip-crime-conference/ and the International Law Enforcement IP Crime Conference web site,  http://iipcic.org/conference.php.

About THE LABEL PRINTERS:

The Label Printers, Aurora, IL, started in business in 1967, manufacturing simple label constructions in a 1,000 square foot space, with 1 employee, serving the local Chicago market.

Today, the company has evolved into one of the 100 largest converters in the United States.  The Label Printers owns and operates two facilities in Aurora, Illinois, manufacturing and distributing labels and packaging products to thousands of customers in 25 countries around the world. The company’s quality systems are registered to ISO 9001 and are backed up by their 99.6% Quality Acceptance Rating.

The Label Printers is a member of NASPO (North American Security Products Organization), CACP (Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy), TLMI (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute) and the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association).

To contact The Label Printers, call 800.229.9549 or e-mail the company at [email protected].

About UL:

Underwriters Laboratories® is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing standards for safety for more than a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries.

About INTERPOL:

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 188 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.

INTERPOL aims to facilitate international police co-operation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular countries. Action is taken within the limits of existing laws in different countries and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. INTERPOL’s constitution prohibits ‘any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.’

About IP Crime [from the International IP Crime Investigators College]:

Trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy are serious Intellectual Property crimes that defraud consumers, threaten health and safety, cost society billions of dollars in lost government revenues, foreign investments or business profits and violate the rights of trademark, patent, and copyright owners.  Imitation products pose a significant safety threat to consumers worldwide. Unsuspecting customers put their health, and even life, in jeopardy each time they use counterfeited products, counterfeited alcoholic beverages and food products or travel in automobiles and aircrafts maintained with substandard counterfeit parts.

These IP crimes impact upon virtually every product category. Today, counterfeiters are producing fake foods and beverages, agrochemicals, electronics and electrical supplies, auto parts, construction material and everyday household products along with luxury goods, unauthorized music and DVDs. These products are shipped around the world to developing and developed markets in ever increasing quantities. And, copyright pirates have created multi-million dollar networks to produce, transport and sell their unauthorized copies of books, music, video, games and software.

The limitless scope of the Internet as a medium for supply and sale of illicit product is a growing concern. It has evolved rapidly from an early technological environment where a certain amount of expertise was required, to a user friendly experience in which anyone can establish a web site, participate in an auction, advertise or buy and sell products. It is an important channel of supply for counterfeiters, allowing them to simultaneously supply products at both the wholesale and retail levels whilst at the same time offering relative anonymity.

Individuals and criminal concerns can make it exceptionally difficult for investigators.  Typically they do this by hosting their web sites in one jurisdiction, running their business from a second, manufacturing in a third, distributing their illicit wares globally by mail or international carriers and banking the proceeds in yet another. Often these enterprises embark on money laundering exercises to disguise the extent of their income and to hide it from tax authorities.

Transnational organized criminals generate hundreds of billions of dollars annually from the manufacture and distribution of fake products, due in part, to the relatively low level of risk and comparatively high level of profit. There is an ever growing need for facilitation and coordination of international police efforts in combating this criminality, which operates across international borders and has very serious consequences for the public.

The concept of intellectual property is a relatively simple one and broadly means the legal rights which accrue to intellectual activity in the artistic, industrial, literary and scientific fields. These legal rights have evolved in turn with developments in each of these areas and have been enshrined in international law for more than 200 years. http://iipcic.org/about.php

About the Ministry of Security of the Argentine Republic:

Security in the Argentina Republic is managed simultaneously by the national government and the provinces. The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires’ security is largely in the hands of the federal administration. The Government created a new ministerial portfolio, fifth created under President Fernandez de Kirchner, which increases the number of ministries to 15.