Global Brand Council
About Us
The Global Brand Council advocates for domestic and international policies designed to significantly impact the illicit trade in counterfeit goods. We work with key members of the administration, influential members of Congress, and high level officials in regulatory agencies to advance systemic change in the way the United States and its international partners combat counterfeit goods.
Our goals are to:
- Promote the business value and consumer benefits of trademarks.
- Combat the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods – both online and in physical marketplaces.
- Develop strategies to protect consumers.
- Advocate for the strength and rights of trademark owners globally.
Why Join the GBC?
The Global Brand Council is currently made up of over 50 global brands, Fortune 500 companies, and influential trade organizations and associations united to advance key systemic change of IP protection and enforcement in the United States and across the globe.
Benefits of Membership
- Joining the Global Brand Council offers instant access to one of the largest business networks with specific focus on trademark and brand protection.
- We are the strongest, most active business advocacy group in the country, giving your company and your brand a strong voice in the fight against counterfeit goods.
- The GBC gives members unparalleled access and collaboration opportunities with key administration leaders, legislators, elected officials, and regulators.
The Global Brand Council was founded on the key insights that structural, systemic changes of U.S. and international IP protection and enforcement policies are needed to make a noticeable impact against counterfeit goods. The illicit trade in counterfeit goods is significant, global, and simply too large for individual brands to enforce their way out of the threat posed by counterfeit goods.
Initiatives
Establish increased collaboration with the Administration and key agencies
- Enhance coordination with high-level government leadership that will prioritize IP enforcement.
- Increase the IP enforcement capabilities of CBP and ICE.
The economic future of the U.S. depends on innovation, ingenuity, and creativity. Further, America’s international competitiveness relies on the technical sophistication of our products, the global recognition of our brands for quality, and the appeal of our creative industries.
Improve enforcement efforts
Recent statistics emphasize the need for increased enforcement. Each year, more than 11 million maritime containers arrive at our seaports. At land borders, another 10 million arrive by truck and 3 million by rail. Through air travel arrives an additional quarter billion more cargo, postal, and express consignment packages.
Tools for the 21st Century
Read the Report
The Facts
- Trust your instincts. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. If you are uncomfortable with the circumstances of your purchase – such as price, website, lack of a sales receipt or warranty information, or, most importantly, a vendor’s unwillingness to answer simple questions about the source of the products for sale – use your common sense and go elsewhere.
- For online shopping, beware of sites that have poor quality photos, spelling mistakes, lack terms and conditions of sale, force you to use unsecure mail, and are not secure.
- Be particularly careful purchasing medicine online. Legitimate online pharmacy websites should:
- Demonstrate an address in the United States and be licensed by the state board of pharmacy where the website is operating (check www.nabp.net for a list of state boards of pharmacy).
- Have a licensed pharmacist to answer your questions.
- Require a prescription from your doctor or other health care professional who is licensed in the United States.
- See the FDA for more information here, and be sure to follow the FDA’s recommendations for reporting illegal online pharmacies. Reports suggest that 97% of online pharmacies do not meet safety or legal standards, so it is especially important that you remain vigilant when buying your medicines online.
- Insist on secure transactions. Operations dealing in counterfeit products are likely to disregard the need to transmit and store customer data in a secure fashion.
- Avoid making a purchase if you are uncomfortable with the security of the transaction.
- When doing business online, make sure your payments are submitted via websites beginning with https:// (the “s” stands for secure) and look for a lock symbol at the bottom of your browser.
- Scrutinize labels, packaging, and contents. There is no foolproof way to know the difference between a bargain and a fake, but labels and packaging can be revealing indicators.
- Look for missing or expired “use by” dates, broken or missing safety seals, missing warranty information, or otherwise unusual packaging.
- You can also verify authenticity by comparing the manufacturer’s contact information with another product’s packaging, as addresses and phone numbers provided with counterfeit goods could be misleading.
- Spread the word about the danger of fake products. Educate your children about the dangers of fake products. Teach children to shop with legal and safe retailers both in local stores and online, and ask children to check with a parent before giving out personal or family information online.
Global Resources
U.S. Chamber IP Index
Global Counterfeiting Metric
