- 17 minutes 26 secondsIntelligence-Led Enforcement: How the UKIPO Is Rewriting the Playbook on IP Crime
In 2021, more than 3 million counterfeit articles were seized in the United Kingdom, with an estimated retail value around £142 million. By 2023, the volume of counterfeits came down to just over 1 million seized articles but, despite this decrease, the value of these seized goods rose to just over £200 million.
No doubt, the scale and human cost of intellectual property (IP) crime is significant. In research published in 2020, the UK government estimated that counterfeiting and piracy cost the national economy £9 billion each year and contribute to more than 80,500 job losses annually.
But the impact of IP crime extends well beyond economic loss: The workers producing these illicit goods may be exposed to poor, unsafe, and unregulated conditions, including in some cases child labor. Consumers may unknowingly purchase low-quality and often dangerous counterfeit goods. And communities may suffer when proceeds from illicit goods help fund organized crime and other illegal activities.
At the same time, the bad actors behind these IP crimes are becoming more sophisticated, using the same tools and tactics as legitimate businesses to sell their goods, expand their market, and reach more consumers in more parts of the world.
In this episode of Brand & New, we focus on IP enforcement in the UK and, in particular, how intelligence‑led and harm‑focused approaches are reshaping the fight against counterfeiting and piracy. As online marketplaces expand, supply chains become more complex, and technology evolves, enforcement authorities are having to work smarter, faster, and more collaboratively than ever.
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has set out a clear vision through its Counter‑Infringement Strategy, centered on building the right structures, partnerships and evidence base to tackle IP crime at home and internationally. A key part of that vision is the creation of an IP Crime Centre of Excellence, strengthened intelligence capability, and deep collaboration with law enforcement, border authorities, and industry.
Our host, Alastair Gray, Director of Anticounterfeiting at the International Trademark Association (INTA), is joined by two people at the heart of that work: the UKIPO’s Andrew Cooke-Welling, Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, and Ritwik Deo, Deputy Director for Intelligence and Law Enforcement Partnerships.
Together, they unpack how intelligence is gathered and used, what partnership really means in practice, and what rights holders should understand about the UK enforcement landscape today.
Related Resources
The UKIPO Intellectual Property (IP) Counter-Infringement Strategy
The UK Customs Intellectual Property Enforcement Report 2021-2023 (UKIPO, November 2025)
IPO counterfeit goods research (UKIPO, September 2020)
Recent and Related Brand & New Episodes
Recent INTA Research for Intellectual Property Professionals
27 August 2026, 4:00 pm - 38 minutes 16 secondsAI and Trademarks: Rethinking Likelihood of Confusion
How might artificial intelligence (AI) reshape the way trademark professionals evaluate "likelihood of confusion"? This is one of the most important—and rapidly evolving—questions in trademark law.
INTA’s recently released study, Exploring the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Likelihood of Confusion Analysis, is the first major attempt to provide an answer.
It takes a close look at how AI technologies—from machine learning and natural language processing to image and audio recognition—could be applied to one of the most fundamental critical aspects of trademark law: determining whether consumers are likely to be confused between two competing marks.
The likelihood of confusion analysis is undertaken in three significant phases of the trademark lifecycle. The first use is made by a brand owner looking to adopt and likely register a new mark. The second is in intellectual property (IP) offices where trademark registration decisions include this analysis. The third area where the likelihood of confusion analysis becomes critical is when a dispute arises.
Likelihood of confusion is certainly a legal test, but that legal test is rooted in the core functions of a trademark, that is how brands build trust with their consumers and how the brand owner’s investment in the trademark can be protected.
Turning to the report, what makes it particularly timely is the context? Firstly, IP offices around the world are facing increasing application volumes and growing complexity, from multilingual word marks to logos, sounds, and even motion-based trademarks. At the same time, AI is already transforming how we search, compare, and analyze data.
Importantly, the study does not advocate for or against AI. Instead, it offers a practical, forward-looking framework, highlighting both the opportunities and the risks, from improved speed and pattern recognition to concerns around bias, transparency, and over-reliance on automation.
This episode of Brand & New is hosted by David Gooder, former Commissioner for Trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), who also contributed to this report. To explore and help explain the report’s findings, he is joined by two colleagues who played a central role in developing this report.
Lori Schulman is Senior Director of Internet Policy at INTA. Ms. Schulman has long been at the forefront of INTA’s work on digital policy issues, including the intersection of emerging technologies and IP. She was part of the core INTA project team that worked closely with FTI Consulting to shape this report, contributing both policy insight and practical perspective on how AI is already affecting the IP ecosystem.
Jose Londoño is Associate Senior Director for External Relations and Policy Development at INTA. Mr. Londoño also served on the report’s internal project team and brings extensive experience working with IP offices and policymakers around the world. Mr. Londoño’s background in public-sector IP administration—which includes serving as Deputy Superintendent for Industrial Property at Colombia’s IP office—adds an important global and operational perspective to how AI could be implemented in practice.
Related Resources
Exploring the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Likelihood of Confusion Analysis (INTA, June 2026)
IP Office of the Future: Digital Transformation Think Tank Report (INTA, July 2026)
INTA Board Resolution of Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Rights Foundational Principles (INTA, May 2025)
Likelihood of confusion (USPTO)
4 August 2026, 1:00 pm - 25 minutes 24 secondsStealth Trademark Filings: Strategy, Risk, and Reality
In a world where brand launches can leak in seconds, competitive intelligence is a reality, and social media amplifies everything, many companies are asking a simple question: How do we protect a brand before the world knows it exists?
That’s where stealth trademark filings come in. This is about using entities, strategic drafting, or filing approaches to obscure a company’s identity or future plans. Some see this as a smart, even necessary tactic. Others raise concerns about transparency, enforceability, and unintended legal consequences.
So where is the line between smart brand strategy and avoidable risk? When does stealth help, and when might it backfire?
To unpack this, we’re joined by Matthew Asbell, a partner at Lippes Mathias LLP and a widely respected intellectual property attorney with deep experience advising brands in diverse industries on global trademark strategy, enforcement, and policy‑level issues. He’s also an adjunct professor of law and frequent guest lecturer at Fordham University and The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.
Mr. Asbell is a longtime leader within the INTA community, contributing to how we think about trademarks not just as registrations, but as business assets.
This episode of Brand & New is sponsored by Lippes Mathias LLP.
Related Resources
Stealth trademarks explained: Protecting brands while staying under the radar (Lexology, July 2025)
22 July 2026, 5:00 pm - 22 minutes 21 secondsProtecting Your Brand Identity in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how brands are built, but it's also making them easier to imitate. From voice cloning and deepfakes to synthetic endorsements and digital impersonation, the lines between authentic and artificial are becoming increasingly blurred.
In this episode of Brand & New, host Willard Knox speaks with Justin Pierce, Partner and Co-Chair of Intellectual Property at Venable LLP (USA), about how AI is reshaping brand protection. They explore why protecting a brand now extends well beyond trademarks, what organizations and individuals should be doing today to safeguard their identities, and how businesses can become "AI-ready" as technology and the legal landscape continue to evolve.
This episode of Brand & New is sponsored by Venable LLP.
Related Resources
Recent and Related Brand & New Episodes
The Legal Wake-up Call for Generative AI
Recent INTA Research for Intellectual Property Professionals
Exploring the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Likelihood of Confusion Analysis
30 June 2026, 7:00 pm - 28 minutes 1 secondWorld IP Day 2026: Celebrating IP and Sports
The theme for World Intellectual Property Day 2026 is “IP and Sport,” and here on Brand & New we’re joining in the celebrations with a close look at the powerful intersection of intellectual property (IP) and sport, and there may be no better stage for that conversation than “the world’s game:” football, or as it called in the United States, soccer!
The goal of World IP Day 2026 is to highlight how creativity, innovation, and strong IP protection keep sport thriving, dynamic, and accessible worldwide—and few organizations embody that global impact quite like the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
In this episode of Brand & New, we’re joined by Tiffany M. Shepard, Director and Senior Counsel, Brand Rights Protection at FIFA World Cup 2026. In this role, Ms. Shepard leads the North American enforcement strategy to safeguard FIFA’s World Cup 2026 IP, retail licensing, and sponsorship rights from ambush marketing, counterfeiting, and unauthorized affiliations. Prior to joining FIFA, Ms. Shepard served in various in-house roles at major global brands, including at BuzzFeed Media Enterprises, The Kraft Heinz Company, and The Procter & Gamble Company
Ms. Shepard joins us today for a timely and wide-ranging conversation about protecting one of the most valuable and visible sports brands on the planet. As excitement builds toward the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, she discusses the importance of safeguarding IP across borders, preserving trust and authenticity for billions of fans around the world, and what’s keeping her team busy in the weeks leading up the event.
From the challenges of brand protection at large-scale global sporting events to advice for the next generation of IP professionals, this episode explores why IP matters not just to organizations like FIFA—but to creativity, innovation, and the future of sport itself.
Related Resources
Recent and Related Brand & New Episodes
IP and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future with Innovation and Creativity
Women Leaders Series: Advancing Athlete Rights
Related 2026 Annual Meeting Sessions
Ambush Marketing Without Borders: How Sports Rights Are Protected Worldwide
27 April 2026, 5:00 pm - 26 minutes 32 secondsCopyright in the Age of AI: The Questions Everyone Is Asking
Copyright law is struggling to keep pace with the way we actually work and the gap between what's assumed to be acceptable and what's legally permitted is wider than most organizations realize. In this episode of Brand & New, Willard Knox connects with Lauren Tulloch and Catherine Zaller Rowland from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to tackle the copyright questions everyone is asking right now. They'll break down the real risks organizations face and what they can do about them. You’ll hear about the biggest misconception in this space, explore how fair use applies in the AI era, and more tools to keep your organization out of trouble.
This episode is sponsored by the Copyright Clearance Center. Learn more at copyright.com.
Resources:
About Copyright Clearance Center
About Catherine Zaller Rowland
Recent and Related Brand & New Episodes:
Legal Wake-up Call for Generative AI
24 April 2026, 5:00 pm - 32 minutes 14 secondsAdvancing Women’s Leadership: From Intention to Impact
Last year marked the fifth anniversary of The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative (WLI). This is the Association’s program to move forward the conversation around women’s leadership in our field and to give INTA members practical tools they can use to advance women leaders in their organizations.
During the last five years, the global intellectual property community has made real progress on belonging and inclusion in our industry, but when we look at leadership, advancement, and impact, many gaps persist.
In celebration of Women’s History Month and to mark our fifth anniversary, the WLI has just released an updated version of the WLI’s original Report and Best Practices Toolkit. It takes an honest look at where progress has been made and where more work is needed.
For this episode of Brand & New, we’re joined by Ayala Deutsch, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at NBA Properties and the WLI Executive Champion. She played a central role in the drafting of the updated Report and will help us dig into and unpack this data-rich research.
Notably, Ms. Deutsch was also President of INTA in 2020, which was not only the first year of the pandemic (with its own repercussions for working women around the world) but also the year when the WLI was drafting its first Report and Best Practices Toolkit. Further, as listeners may know, Ms. Deutsch has hosted many episodes of Brand & New on behalf of the WLI.
Beyond exploring the Report findings and data, Ms. Deutsch provides practical insights for those looking to advance belonging and inclusion in their organizations and engage their leadership on this issue, and for those who want to become better advocates for themselves.
Happy Women’s History Month and enjoy the episode.Resources:
About Alaya Deutsch
About The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative
About Women’s History Month
The WLI Report & Best Practices Toolkit 2026 Update
Recent and Related Brand & New Episodes:Women Architects of Innovation: AI, IP, and What’s Next (The WLI’s 2026 Annual Meeting Educational Session)
30 March 2026, 5:00 pm - 52 minutes 38 secondsThe Legal Wake-Up Call of Generative AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is forcing legal systems worldwide to confront fundamental questions about creativity, ownership, and identity. Can companies train algorithms on copyrighted works without permission? What happens when technology makes it easy to clone someone’s voice or face? In this episode of Brand & New, host Willard Knox speaks with two attorneys at the forefront of these rapidly evolving issues. Lynn Oberlander is Co-Editor of the Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) comprehensive new treatise, Artificial Intelligence & Intellectual Property, which brings together leading practitioners to address the most pressing legal challenges in AI. Catie Seibel Sinitsa is the co-author the chapter covering copyright and AI.
Ms. Oberlander has spent almost 25 years counseling media and entertainment companies on intellectual property (IP) and First Amendment issues. Ms. Sinitsa specializes in copyright and trademark law, working with clients across fashion, media, among other industries.
Together, they unpack how this evolving technology is reshaping long-standing IP principles and why these questions are no longer theoretical but urgent, real-world concerns.
This episode of Brand & New is sponsored by PLI. For more than 90 years, the Institute has helped legal professionals stay at the forefront of knowledge and expertise through world-class continuing legal education.
Related Resources
About Lynn Oberlander
About Catie Seibel Sinitsa
About the Practising Law Institute
Access Artificial Intelligence & Intellectual PropertyAI-Related Sessions at INTA's 2026 Annual Meeting
Related Brand & New Episodes:26 January 2026, 7:00 pm - 29 minutes 29 secondsCertifying Human Music in the Age of AI
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in music has sparked a new kind of identity crisis for artists and the industry alike. When anyone with a laptop can generate a song in seconds, how do listeners tell differentiate between human-created music and AI-generated music?
In this episode of Brand & New, guest host Rudy Gaines talks with Paul McGrady, an intellectual property attorney and the co-founder of Humanable (USA), a certification platform that verifies when music is created entirely by human artists. Inspired by his daughter’s journey in Nashville’s music scene, Mr. McGrady shares how Humanable aims to protect musicians, preserve royalties, and help audiences reconnect with authentic artistry.
Beyond the legal innovation, Mr. McGrady also discusses his Nashville alter ego, “Uncle Paul,” and his mission to spotlight independent musicians through social media and community advocacy.
This episode was recorded live during INTA’s 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.
Resources:Related Brand & New Episodes:
19 December 2025, 4:00 pm - 34 minutes 34 secondsWhen Music Meets IP: A Conversation with Mei-lan Stark and Rick McMurtry
As AI-generated music floods the market, the music industry faces unprecedented questions about creativity, copyright, and compensation. But behind every evolving technology and headline debate are the lawyers, often musicians themselves, who navigate the space where art and law converge.
In this episode of Brand & New, guest host Rudy Gaines sits down with two leading intellectual property practitioners whose personal and professional lives are deeply connected to music: INTA Past President Mei-lan Stark, Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel for IP at NBCUniversal (USA) and Rick McMurtry, Founding Partner at M|C Law Group (USA).
From childhood music lessons to high-stakes licensing negotiations, both guests share how their lifelong connection to music has shaped their careers, protecting creative works. Together, they trace the soundtrack of the industry’s evolution, from the era of Napster to today’s AI-driven soundscapes, exploring how innovation challenges what it means to be both creator and protector.
This episode was recorded live during INTA’s 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.Resources:
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19 December 2025, 3:00 pm - 28 minutes 1 secondWhy IP Systems Must Earn Trust Again
In today’s episode of Brand & New, we’re diving into a timely and complex question: How can intellectual property (IP) systems earn public trust again?
Behind the headlines and the legal frameworks, what’s really at stake is how innovation happens, and whether creators, entrepreneurs, and consumers continue to believe in the value of protection, fairness, and trust.
Joining us to explore this critical conversation is Megan Carpenter, Dean of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Franklin Pierce School of Law (USA). Under her leadership, UNH Franklin Pierce has continued to pioneer new ways of teaching IP, bridging theory with practice, and preparing the next generation of lawyers, policymakers, and creators to navigate an increasingly complex innovation economy.
Ms. Carpenter shares how IP education is evolving, what it means to rebuild trust in IP systems, and why innovators and brand owners should care deeply about the future of IP.
This is the third episode in INTA’s Women's Leaders Series, a collaboration between Brand and New, and the Women's LeadershIP Initiative. It brings together women leaders and diverse roles and representing various organization types in the brands and IP ecosystem. These women are at the forefront of industry trends and the conversation around how the landscape for women leaders is being shaped today.
This episode is also sponsored by the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, a global leader in intellectual property education, innovation, and research.
RESOURCES:
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