Combined Forces Protect Brands in the Mainland of China
Stephen Vickers, President and CEO of International Risk, (left) with Vice President, Brand Protection, Bill Thompson
Hong Kong and international brands are offered more stringent protection of their intellectual property in the Mainland of China following the alignment of two Hong Kong-based anti-piracy powerhouses.
Intellectual property rights (IPR) and brand protection firm International Risk, a unit of New York-listed FTI Consulting and one of the largest risk mitigation firms in Asia, has further bolstered its strength by acquiring Thompson Market Services (TMS), with an operational platform across 19 Mainland cities.
"The threat to global brands is huge – recent statistics estimate the loss to U.S. and other international businesses at over US$600 billion," said Stephen Vickers, President & CEO, International Risk Ltd. "I'm bringing TMS and International Risk together to combat that risk."
International Risk has been doing strategic brand consulting for years, but Mr. Vickers said that "it's all about execution."
"Increasingly, we realize the necessity for a group that is on the ground with experienced people in key locations on the Mainland, and TMS delivers exactly that to our program."
The two have combined their services to protect local and international brands with investigation, enforcement and other consulting functions. Mr. Vickers sees the combination opening up new and more effective ways to protect brands and intellectual property.
Patents and trademarks
"Western brands largely produce almost everything on the ground in China. It's critical we are in a position to support them in protecting their brands," he said. "If you're not in China with operational capability all over the Mainland, it is very difficult to do a professional job."
Bill Thompson, Vice President, Brand Protection, International Risk Ltd., said IP problems were no longer single country or single market problems. "It was time to align ourselves with a provider who had a larger regional and global presence to better serve our clients," he said.
Mr. Thompson described IPR and brand protection in the Mainland of China as "a work in progress." He said a great number of resources had been devoted to the process, and great strides had been made in enforcement and amendment of laws. "It is an evolutionary process that Taiwan and Hong Kong have gone through in the past – now it's China's turn," Mr. Thompson said.
He added that it's a common misconception to think multinational brands are the only ones that are hit in China. "The Chinese are working very hard to develop nationally famous and globally famous brands of their own." He commented that counterfeiters don't discriminate – if they can make a small margin then the brand is at risk.
Base for expansion
Going forward, Stephen Vickers expects International Risk will continue to grow into regional markets from its corporate base in Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong is critical – its rule of law, transparent business systems and the rest make it much easier for our multinational clients to do business with us through Hong Kong," he said.
"As a transportation hub, it is easy to fly in and out. The bulk of our core clients would much rather come here, sign a contract here and have confidence that what they've done in Hong Kong will stand."
International Risk: http://www.intl-risk.com/
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