WASHINGTON, June 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA), a non-profit organization solely focused on intellectual property (IP) protection for the high-tech industry, today announced that it has added two new member companies to its roster. Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, and risk intelligence firm FiveBy Solutions have joined AGMA on its mission to hinder threats to IP and render these activities more difficult, undesirable and unprofitable.
As IP theft continues to cost the U.S. economy thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue, AGMA membership keeps growing. AGMA is chartered with addressing key threats to IP in the high-tech industry. These threats come in a variety of forms – including gray marketing, counterfeiting, service and warranty fraud, and digital IP abuse. AGMA’s goal is to educate the industry and the public by sharing and developing best practices in the fight against IP theft. AGMA employs a number of tactics, including event speaking, educational initiatives, benchmark studies, industry guidelines, and public policy advocacy.
Rockwell Automation joined AGMA to partner with other leaders in the global fight against gray market and counterfeiting, and to enhance its overall brand protection strategy. “We are committed to protecting our intellectual property and preserving the value of our limited distribution model in order to help our customers confidently purchase high-quality, authentic Rockwell Automation products from authorized sources,” said Ryan Smaglik, head of revenue and brand protection at Rockwell Automation. “The gray and counterfeit markets are of particular focus for us right now, and we are taking proactive steps to address these issues.”
Having previously partnered with AGMA in a research capacity, FiveBy Solutions views AGMA membership as an extension of its commitment to mitigating business risks for its clients. “For over a decade, we’ve been providing insights to the world’s most recognizable brands on risks related to fraud, abuse, sanctions or security,” noted FiveBy’s chief commercial officer, John Solheim. “We look forward to joining the conversation and sharing our expertise with our fellow AGMA members, helping them to up their game when it comes to protecting their reputations, their ability to support customers, their intellectual property, and their bottom line.”
“While IP theft is often viewed as a ‘victimless’ crime – in reality, it couldn’t be further from the truth,” noted AGMA President Sally Nguyen. “IP theft robs the U.S. and global economies of business income, jobs and tax revenue, and impacts product safety, which puts lives at risk. Bringing the tech industry together as a united front is a powerful way to fight back against fraudulent activities, and we are pleased that Rockwell Automation and FiveBy have joined our cause.”
There are many benefits to becoming an AGMA member. AGMA provides an open forum where IP brand owners can discuss trends, issues and approaches to combat a broad range of threats. AGMA also uses a variety of avenues to get its message out and cultivate change in the marketplace, including event speaking, educational initiatives, benchmark studies, white papers, industry guidelines, and, as appropriate, public policy advocacy in areas like law enforcement and customs.
To learn more about AGMA, or to become a member, please visit www.agmaglobal.org.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 24,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.
About FiveBy Solutions
FiveBy is a specialized risk intelligence services firm that provides the insights needed to move faster and further to transform risks into opportunities that grow profits, strengthen brands, and exceed customer expectations with confidence. FiveBy’s unique point of view brings together expertise spanning security, technology, data science, and business operations to connect the dots. By turning data into an enabler, FiveBy designs adaptable responses – whether to an ongoing incident or to implement preventive measures – tailored to business needs and always with a human touch. For more information, visit www.fiveby.com.
About AGMA
AGMA is a non-profit organization comprised of influential companies in the technology sector. Incorporated in 2001, AGMA’s mission is to address gray market fraud, parallel imports, counterfeiting, software piracy, and service abuse of technology products around the globe. The organization’s goals are to protect intellectual property and authorized distribution channels, improve customer satisfaction and preserve brand integrity.
AGMA welcomes technology manufacturers, as well as persons or entities that own or hold intellectual property rights to finished goods outside the technology industry; government and law enforcement officials; product and service providers who provide goods and/or services to combat gray market fraud, counterfeiting and warranty and service abuse threats. AGMA uses a variety of avenues to cultivate change in the marketplace, including event speaking, educational initiatives, benchmark studies, industry guidelines, and, where appropriate, public policy advocacy. To learn more about AGMA’s initiatives or to become a member, please visit www.agmaglobal.org or follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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