The CP solves – collaborative data sharing develops superior detection algorithms and enforcement

//DH

CBP = Customs and Border Patrol

Establish a Public-Private Partnership to Share Anti-Counterfeiting Data

Congress should direct CBP to establish a public-private partnership wherein enforcement agencies, brand sellers, and online marketplaces work together to stop counterfeiters and disrupt their networks by creating a shared data repository, developing common industry standards, and conducting research on proactive measures to identify and disrupt counterfeiter networks.

First, this partnership should create a shared data repository—a cloud-based, common-pool resource to share and manage across many stakeholders. The architecture for this repository might include a data layer to normalize and integrate data from diverse sources; an analytics layer in which competing software algorithms translate data into alerts that can be used by government enforcement agencies, brand sellers, and online marketplaces; and finally an application layer for entrepreneurial firms and research organizations to experiment with available data to develop innovative products and services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Big Data Program is one example of such a data repository. The National Weather Service performs a comparable function wherein it aggregates data from multiple data sources and fuses it together in order to provide weather data to its customers and the larger community.

Second, this partnership should establish commonly accepted standards and best practices for information sharing among enforcement agencies, brand sellers, and online marketplaces. In this regard, there is a need to create mechanisms for a common system of digital identification for third-party verification. Private actors could work in partnership with CBP to standardize the process by which customs brokers verify the identity of their client importers. This partnership organization could combine this verification scheme with enhanced information sharing between CBP and e-commerce platforms to keep counterfeiters off of online marketplaces.61 A system could be established that would foster information sharing while at the same time protecting sensitive business information from disclosure to either competitors or the public.

Third, this partnership should provide a forum to conduct shared research. Normally, firms may be reluctant to share such research for fear that other competitors might free-ride on this activity. In this regard, a partnership with CBP and other law enforcement agencies taking the lead, along with brand sellers and online marketplaces, could advance research in AI algorithms that look for patterns in the movement and behavior of counterfeiting networks.