The Counterfeiter Hall of Shame – Pt 2: CASE STUDY
In this month’s Brand Protection Professional (BPP) issue, a case study titled, “Combating Counterfeit Medical Devices,” details the backstory ofContinue Reading
Author: Ron Alvarez
Ron Alvarez is an IP investigations and protection consultant and writer in New York City. He is a former NYPD lieutenant where he investigated robbery, narcotics, internal affairs, and fine art theft cases. Ron has since coordinated the private investigation of international fraud and money laundering cases, as well as IP-related investigations and research involving the four pillars of IP: copyright, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Ron is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and earned a B.A. in Government and Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. He has written a number of articles for various investigative publications, as well as published "The World of Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and Investigations" in November 2021.
The Counterfeiter Hall of Shame: Recent Induction
On March 5th a Florida woman was sentenced to six months in prison for selling counterfeit medical/surgical pads she purchasedContinue Reading
Why Employees Must Be Hacker-Detectors
On January 27th, a coordinated global law enforcement operation took down a notorious malware network that is said to haveContinue Reading
Trade Secrets Thief Sentenced to 30 Months for Medical Institution Theft
On February 1st, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the sentencing of a trade secrets thief to 30 monthsContinue Reading
To Catch a Trade Secrets Thief – The Computer Forensics Way
On January 13th, the FBI arrested a former medical director of a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey for allegedly stealingContinue Reading
Persistent Counterfeiters: U.S. State Department Employee and Spouse
On March 18, 2021, a U.S. State Department employee and his spouse will be sentenced by a U.S. District CourtContinue Reading
Remote Investigations
FTI Consulting, Global has written a timely and informative series of articles surrounding the issue of conducting remote investigations. TheContinue Reading
U.S. Anti-Piracy Legislation Passed – Illegal Streaming Penalties Increased
On December 27, 2020, a new section to the U.S. “Protecting Lawful Streaming Act” was signed into law to punishContinue Reading
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Dear IP PI Blog Readers: It’s nearly the end of the year – and what a year it’s been. JustContinue Reading
McAffee Report: The Hidden Costs of Cybercrime
The recently published McAffee Report, “The Hidden Costs of Cybercrime” is a sobering and insightful analysis of the current stateContinue Reading
Ransomware Payments: Know Whom You’re Paying!
In a recent Cafe Insider-Cyber Space podcast interview, “Why you should be paying attention to ransomware cyber attacks,” John Carlin,Continue Reading
Cyber Attacks for Ransom: Exponentially Growing Problem (Post 3 of 3)
HACKED COMPANIES CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE “Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place” is definedContinue Reading
U.S. Private Investigator—Former Law Enforcement Officer—Arrested for Conspiring with Chinese Foreign Agents in an illegal Chinese “Fox Hunt” operation
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of eight (8) persons (five of which were arrested)Continue Reading
Brands vs Domain Names: Webinar–Global IP Panel, November 9th
Distinguished Panel to Discuss ‘Brands vs. Domain Names’ on November 9th at 11am EST Experts in IP law and domainContinue Reading
Amazon Prime Day – Beware of Scams – October 13 – 14
Today and tomorrow is Amazon Prime Day (October 13 and 14) Bolster Research published an excellent article that describes theContinue Reading
Cyber Attacks for Ransom: Exponentially Growing Problem (Post 2 of 3)
This post (post 2 of 3) considers what is driving this drastic spike in ransomware attacks and the hacker ecosystem.Continue Reading
China’s Notorious Thousand Talents Program – Equal Opportunity Recruiter – UPDATE
QUICK UPDATE On June 2, 2019, I published a post where I expressed being intrigued to learn that China’s ThousandContinue Reading
Cyber Attacks for Ransom: Exponentially Growing Problem (Post 1 of 3)
Four years ago, when I started to follow the progression of ransomware attacks, two of the prominent examples of thatContinue Reading
Update: U.S. Transnational and High Tech Crime Global Law Enforcement Network (GLEN)
On August 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice published a press release updating the status of the U.S. TransnationalContinue Reading
Interview with UK Investigator re: How Data Protection legislation disadvantages the very people it should protect
As long ago as January 2018, Dick Smith was on record, warning the investigation industry in the UK that theContinue Reading
Risk Assessment re: China’s Proposed Amendment to Its Espionage Law
China is amending its foreign trade secrets theft laws according to a recent news report. The proposed amendment is currentlyContinue Reading
Online Conference–A Brand’s New World-The Future of Challenges in Brand Protection: July 20-22 (Hosted by: MSU/A-CAPP)
Michigan State University’s Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP) is holding a 3-day online conference with industry leaders toContinue Reading
Book Review: The Scientist and the Spy. Review by Russell Atkinson
Early this year The Scientist and the Spy, by Mara Hvistendahl, was published by Riverhead Books. The following is aContinue Reading
New Digital Format of the Brand Protection Professional (BPP) Magazine
Dear IP PI Blog Readers: I just want take a moment to bring to your attention the “New” digital formatContinue Reading
Amazon’s First Counterfeit Crimes Unit
In case you missed yesterday’s announcement that Amazon has created their first Counterfeit Crimes Unit, I just wanted to bringContinue Reading
So…What is the China-Espionage “Thousand Grains of Sand” Theory?
Recently, I was introduced to the “Thousand Grains of Sand” theory. This theory attempts to explain the strategy that hasContinue Reading
World Anti-Counterfeiting Day – BASCAP / U.S. IPR Center Webinar
Today is World Anti-Counterfeiting Day. To commemorate this day, the International Chamber of Commerce, (ICC) Business Action to Stop CounterfeitingContinue Reading
U.S. Congress Message to China: You Need Not Bid
The recent introduction of the bi-partisan Airport Infrastructure Resources (AIR) Security Act in the United States Congress is a directContinue Reading
4th Anniversary of IP PI Blog.com
Dear IP PI Blog Reader: I hope this message finds you and yours healthy and safe. With your permission, IContinue Reading
China Victim of Chinese IP Thieves Too: China Report Claims
On April 26, 2020, The National Law Review published an article titled, “China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Issues Top Example CasesContinue Reading