Brady sponsors NASPO, US TAG, and ISO TC247 in development of global brand protection standards

Brady Worldwide, Inc. announced today that it has signed a sponsorship agreement with the North American Security Products Organization (NASPO) to support the development of new global standards for fraud countermeasures and controls. The standards will address brand protection and intellectual property, identity theft and identify management, and financial fraud (non-bank regulated). Upon completion, the standards are expected to become internationally-recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Brady sponsorship helps NASPO advance brand protection standardization

In 2009, ISO awarded the development of the Technical Committee 247 for “Fraud Countermeasures and Controls” to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

NASPO was assigned by ANSI to be the Administrator of the United States Technical Advisor Group (TAG) for the ISO Technical Committee 247 and Project Committee 246, and the Secretariat to ISO TC247. Relevant stakeholders and suppliers in the brand protection industry, including Brady, were invited to participate in the development process.

Brady signed the agreement to sponsor NASPO’s work with ISO TC247 in May. The sponsorship includes financial support for administrative costs, as well as participation in the development of the brand protection standards.

“With the support of leading brand security suppliers like Brady, we have made significant progress in a short period of time. Our end goal is to develop a global standard that will help address anti-counterfeiting and fraud,” said Mike O’Neil, NASPO’s executive director. “Brady’s sponsorship, combined with their years of experience in the industry, will play a key role in the success of ISO TC247.”

According to O’Neil, the ISO TC247 efforts are expected to evolve into ISO standards that will be internationally recognized. The new standards will focus on the detection, prevention and control of social and economic fraud, including identity fraud, financial fraud, and product fraud, among others.

New standards steer customers toward global, certified suppliers

“Until now, brand security was often dealt with at a local or regional level,” said Dennis Polinski, Brady’s brand protection market manager. “The new standards will provide a more effective, consistent process for protecting brand names and intellectual property around the world.

With the standardization process underway, Polinski says he’s already seen a shift in the way companies are conducting their search for security suppliers; more brand owners are placing increasing importance on various ISO certifications and secure global supply chains.

“We expect NASPO and ISO certification to eventually become a standard part of our customers’ quote requests for brand protection products,” said Polinski. “We’ve already started to see this on a few occasions and expect it to grow once the applicable ISO standards are in place.”

Brady has two locations that are NASPO certified (Milwaukee, Wis. and Singapore). These sites follow a rigid set of standards and operational protocols to ensure the security of the technologies and solutions being produced. Brady also has more than 25 supporting sites around the world, located in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

“Global brand owners are taking more notice of what’s going on with security controls at their suppliers,” said Polinski. “And they want to make sure they’re working with a partner who can meet both their local and global needs. Brady can do that.”

To learn more about Brady’s brand protection solutions, visit www.BradyID.com/brandprotection or call 1-800-297-5778.

About Brady Corporation:

Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) is an international manufacturer and marketer of complete solutions that identify and protect premises, products and people. Its products include high-performance labels and signs, safety devices, printing systems and software, and precision die-cut materials. Founded in 1914, the company has more than 500,000 customers in electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, education, medical and a variety of other industries. Brady is headquartered in Milwaukee and employs more than 7,000 people at operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific. Brady’s fiscal 2009 sales were approximately $1.2 billion. More information about Brady Corporation is available at www.BradyCorp.com and to learn more about Brady’s complete line of products and offers, visit www.BradyID.com. In Canada, visit www.BradyCanada.ca.