Building a Global Brand Protection Program from Inside a Small Company

June 2020

Abstract

It was his first time at the Canton Trade Show and Tim Demarais, Vice President of ABRO Industries, Inc., was shocked. He had just turned a corner in the cavernous hall hosting the world’s largest trade show to confront a very large “ABRO” booth. The problem, unfortunately, was that ABRO did not have a booth at the show. Tim had heard about brand counterfeiting – everyone had – but he had not expected it to impact a company like ABRO.

Author

William Mansfield

Director of Intellectual Property, ABRO Industries Inc, USA

William Mansfield is the Director of Intellectual Property for ABRO Industries, Inc. headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. ABRO exports a wide variety of household, automotive, and light industrial goods such as glues, tapes, and oils from the United States under the ABRO® brand name to individuals and small businesses in developing nations worldwide. While virtually unknown in the U.S., ABRO® is a major brand name in countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria, and Ecuador. As Director of Intellectual Property, Mr. Mansfield is in charge of protecting the over 2,000 trademarks ABRO has registered in over 175 countries. Mr. Mansfield has himself traveled to 56 foreign countries and directed matters in over 160. This involves coordinating the actions of attorneys, investigators, and government officials on six continents (and he is hoping for a case in Antarctica to arise one day as well). Mr. Mansfield earned his J.D. and M.B.A. at Indiana University. He is certified in the investigation of transnational and organized intellectual property crime by the international police organization INTERPOL. He has been in the field of intellectual property and brand protection for over 20 years, first as an undercover investigator and then as an attorney.

Company

ABRO Industries Inc

ABRO Industries, Inc. is a small company headquartered in South Bend, IN, USA which specializes in various fast-moving consumer goods such as glue, tape, motor oil, etc. under the "ABRO" brand name. All products are sold overseas, primarily in developing markets such as Nigeria, Ecuador, Pakistan, etc.

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