The Label Printers recently participated in the 2009 International Law Enforcement IP Crime Conference in Dublin, Ireland. The company was a Gold Sponsor of the conference, which brought together 390 attendees from 44 countries, representing the law enforcement community, IP and brand owners, anti-counterfeiting solution suppliers, and others interested in combating the global menace of counterfeiting and piracy.

In addition to their Gold Sponsorship of the Conference, The Label Printers facilitated a conference workshop on Day 2, and throughout Day 2 and Day 3, along with a number of other conference attendees, participated in an exhibit of IP (Intellectual Property) crime-fighting technologies and solutions.

Bill Kane, C.E.O., and Lori Campbell, Chief Operations Manager of The Label Printers attended the conference. Ms. Campbell reports, “On the first day of the conference, the Keynote speeches covered a range of topics, and included an ‘up-close-and-personal’ demonstration of IP crime fighting. The MPAA showed a video on their trained ‘DVD-sniffing’ dogs, whose job it is to find counterfeit DVDs. The dogs are brought into various ports, and sniff out DVDs which are secreted in a number of apparently legitimate products – such as computer CPUs, which, in this case, are actually just plastic casings housing counterfeit DVDs. Conference attendees were then introduced to a couple of black labs and treated to an example of the dogs’ skills. The dogs, in turn, were treated with tennis balls.”

The second day of the conference began a series of 16 workshops addressing various issues involved in fighting IP Crime. Mr. Kane, along with Russ LaCoste of SICPA, facilitated a workshop entitled “Utilizing Product Security Technologies to Defeat Transnational Organized IP Crime”. Kane said, “All of the workshops were designed to generate discussion about the workshop topic, but also IP Crime in general. Brand owners shared with us the difficulties they face in determining the extent of their losses (or potential losses) so that they might decide what kind of investment in technology they should make. Of course, we believe that by utilizing some of the very sophisticated technologies of inks, substrates, and label constructions, brand owners can protect their intellectual property in a very cost effective manner.” Ms. Campbell added, “IP owners understand that they can’t wait for the ‘perfect solution’ – there is no ‘perfect solution’. Just like with most technologies, anti-counterfeiting technologies continue to evolve. No one is ever going to buy the ‘last’ p.c. – or the ‘last’ replacement for the p.c. Brand owners and suppliers understand that they have to do their homework. They have to understand the problem, understand their supply chain, and know their suppliers.”

The conference’s third day brought to a close the individual seminar workshops and also provided all conference attendees a Summary of all of the conferences workshops. “Because it was, in fact, a crime conference, there was heavy emphasis on and participation by the law enforcement community”, said Campbell. “The overriding theme of the conference was that combating IP crime requires effort on everyone’s part. Conference presenters stressed cooperation and corroboration. Law enforcement representatives talked about sharing crime databases. And they, along with brand owners and suppliers, agreed that the responsibility for combating IP crime is jointly held by the reseller, the brand owner, and the consumer.”

Keith Williams, the President and CEO of Underwriters Laboratories, said that today’s economic climate meant that public and private organizations were now combating IP crime with less resources, leading to increased global opportunities for international counterfeiting and piracy networks - ‘a global epidemic’ requiring international cooperation and partnerships.

Describing intellectual property crime as a ‘thriving multi-billion dollar global industry' closely linked to transnational organized crime, INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble, stated "As with other transnational crimes, no single country can effectively fight the production and sale of counterfeit products. The solution must involve all stakeholders - the public and private sectors, international bodies, and non-governmental organizations - at the national and global levels, for counterfeiting is a global menace which law enforcement alone cannot address."

About THE LABEL PRINTERS:

The Label Printers, Aurora, IL, started in business in 1967, manufacturing simple label constructions in a 1,000 square foot space, with 1 employee, serving the local Chicago market.

Today, the company has evolved into one of the 100 largest converters in the United States. The Label Printers owns and operates two facilities in Aurora, Illinois, manufacturing and distributing labels and packaging products to thousands of customers in 25 countries around the world. The company’s packaging products are certified to ISO 9001 standards, and their quality is backed up by their 99.6% Quality Acceptance Rating.

The Label Printers is a member of NASPO (North American Security Products Organization, www.naspo.info), IACC (International Anticounterfeiting Coalition, www.iacc.org), CACP (Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, http://www.theglobalipcenter.com/index.php/cacp), TLMI (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute, www.tlmi.com) and the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association, www.flexography.org).

About Underwriters Laboratories:

Underwriters Laboratories® is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing standards for safety for more than a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries.

About INTERPOL:

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 188 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.

INTERPOL aims to facilitate international police co-operation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular countries. Action is taken within the limits of existing laws in different countries and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. INTERPOL’s constitution prohibits ‘any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.’