Intellectual Property protection was the central theme when AGMA president Ram Manchi recently gave a presentation to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).  Manchi's presentation was titled, "Intellectual Property Protection - Global Enforcement Challenges," and was delivered on July 8 at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Representing AGMA, Manchi provided a glimpse into the challenges associated with protecting IP, including identifying the four key aspects of IP compromise: Vectors, Enablers, Motives, and Impact.  Manchi also elaborated on the global challenges faced when attempting to enforce IP protection, including: local laws and governance; enforceability and capability; education and awareness; political and cultural factors; resources and priorities, virtual globalization and new technologies.

Operations Committee - Has been hard at work analyzing policies and procedures to enhance and/or streamline AGMA operations for efficiency and cost savings.  This ongoing review was undertaken in order to better serve AGMA's growing worldwide membership.

Affiliates and Membership Committee- Reports that the membership is growing and there is an increased number of companies exploring membership.  Currently, there are 15 Class I members.  AGMA also currently has 4 Class III members, and continues to receive interest from government and law enforcement agencies in attending our quarterly meetings.  The committee is preparing a prospective member list to distribute to the membership, with the goal of gaining support for a recruiting campaign to start the first of the year.  Anyone who wants to assist in recruitment can contact Phyllis Massey at Phyllis.massey@hp.com.

Government Affairs Committee - Working with Monument Policy Group, the Government Affairs committee has been busy on the Hill! From monitoring legislative activity on cyber security policy to drafting and submitting written testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on customs reauthorization, the committee is focused on ensuring that AGMA maintains a high profile in DC.

Journalists at the world's top publications continue to look to AGMA as an expert resource when developing stories that deal with issues surrounding counterfeiting, gray marketing, intellectual property rights and warranty & service abuse in the technology sector.

For example, in a Wall Street Journal piece titled,Tough Times for Independent IT Dealers writer Emily Maltby turned to AGMA's PR committee chair, Scott D. Olsen, for insight into her story on manufacturers and counterfeit components. Please click here to read the full story on our website.

Additionally, Investor's Business Daily recently spoke with AGMA president Ram Manchi for its story Tech's Gray Market remains a Black Hole.  Commenting on the state of the gray market today, Ram noted that, "As the Internet is expanding exponentially; networking products have become prime targets. Data warehousing, cloud computing, networking are all high-visibility targets." Please click here to read the full article on our website.