Branddy Spence
Branddy Spence is OpSec's Director of Corporate Communications. Prior to her current role, she spent several years implementing successful brand protection programs for many well-known licensing and entertainment brands.
There’s been plenty of outrage recently over the unexplained rise in cost of Mylan’s EpiPen injector. Just last week Mylan’s CEO, Heather Bresch, attempted to defend in Congress the drug’s nearly 600% price increase over the past ten years. This price surge has left many people with life-threatening allergies that depend on this medicine to search for other alternatives such as generic versions, coupon offers, or discounted online sales.
Drug pricing is one of the main reasons consumers head to online pharmacies in search of cheaper options. By the same token, the price of authentic medicines is what drives counterfeiters to manufacture fake, substandard product and offer it for sale virtually anonymously online.
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Topics:
Product Authentication,
Online Brand Protection,
Pharmaceuticals,
Online InSight,
Brand Protection & Enhancement
Prom season is the time when excitable teenagers and their parents visit businesses - both local and online - in search of showy, expensive gowns and tuxedos for the end-of-the-year celebration with their friends. This time of year can be a major boon for businesses in need of a little extra profit, but many teens' dollars are going elsewhere as they seek more affordable options, though often, they end up getting a lot less than what they hoped for.
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Topics:
Fashion & Luxury,
Product Authentication,
Online Brand Protection,
Brand Protection,
Supply Chain Management,
Apparel Enhancement
Product authenticity is a problem in the olive oil industry.If you're running a business that sells or processes olive oil, or a restaurant that utilizes it often, then chances are you've bought a watered-down mixture at some point. Product authenticity has actually become a significant problem in the olive oil industry. The problem boils down to a discrepancy between what companies say they are offering, and what they are actually distributing.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
Product Authentication,
Consumer Goods,
Brand Protection,
Security Labels
As soon as Thanksgiving comes around, sales abound, and retailers are offering deep discounts to encourage consumers to buy gifts for loved ones. Counterfeiters are also aware that this is the easiest time to scam consumers—even the most educated consumers are less suspicious of discounted prices during this time of year.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
Online Brand Protection,
Intellectual Property,
Brand Protection
The global market for illicit cigarettes has sunk its teeth into supply chains around the world - though substantially more so in some areas than others - and ongoing counterfeit tobacco trade could be costing some governments up to €1 billion ($1.09 billion) annually.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
Product Authentication,
Tax Stamps,
Government Protection,
Hot Stamp Foils
While counterfeiting is seen as a relatively minor problem in Australia, recent research from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that it is actually quite significant, particularly for small businesses.
Initially the data compiled by researchers appears to support the belief that counterfeiting isn't much of an issue in Australia.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
In the Headlines
An Ohio man was recently charged with distributing counterfeit drugs he had obtained from China and India.
Tamacio Walls was caught selling a number of erectile dysfunction pills he had acquired through unauthorized means, and as a result, could end up serving hard time. The boxes containing the shipments of illicit medications were mislabeled.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
Product Authentication,
Pharmaceuticals,
In the Headlines,
Brand Protection
Do you have a few wrinkles that you'd like to get rid of? Well, according to a recent Food and Drug Administration warning, if you decide on getting Botox you could have problems worse than crow's feet.
The FDA recently warned doctors that a counterfeit make of the drug popularly used to clear wrinkles from people's faces has made its way into the U.S.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
Health and Beauty,
Pharmaceuticals,
In the Headlines,
Brand Protection
Fifteen surgeons and even more hospitals nationwide have been named in allegations that they were involved in a counterfeit spinal hardware ring.
A civil complaint obtained by America Tonight showed that patients received non-FDA approved spinal hardware as a result of the counterfeiters' actions,
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
In the Headlines,
Brand Protection,
Medical Devices
Canada has seen a number of deaths connected to counterfeit medications recently, and authorities there think they may have discovered another case.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police suspect that a sudden death in North Battleford may have been caused by counterfeit oxycontin. A number of recent deaths in the country have been attributed to fake replications of the pain-killer, but this is believed to be the first in the Saskatchewan town.
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Topics:
Counterfeiting,
Online Brand Protection,
Pharmaceuticals,
In the Headlines
