Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 49

Management of Brand Protection with Special Reference to the Case of ‘Tata Steel

Limited’

Sehba Husain

JICM, Green Bowl, Chandanpura Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India

sehba_hussain@yahoo.com

Abstract

A brand is a connotation, impression about product or a service. It is an outcome of experiences

and efforts made to provide positive identity to the business. Brand is an intellectual property of

business, creation of business intellects and hence required to be protected as other tangible

assets of business. With business growing at fast speed all over the world, practices of

counterfeiting and piracy are increasing at an alarming rate. Spurious products carrying certain

brand name negatively affect the goodwill brand possess which significantly impact sales of

particular brand. Companies therefore are trying their level best to protect their brands against

these evil practices. India, being one of the fastest growing nations is focusing on protection of

intellectual capital of countrymen by providing suitable regulatory framework to safeguard

intellectual property rights. In India there are companies which are effectively protecting their

brand with efficient brand protection management. This paper entails the case study of renowned

Indian company „Tata Steel Limited‟ and strategies it is implementing for management of brand

protection. Research investigates how brand protection activities started in the company, how

department grows and how strategies are implemented by way of continuous campaigns by Tata

Steel brand protection department. Study also enunciates „5-C Strategic Brand Protection

Campaign Model at Tata Steel Limited‟ which shows step by step procedure of campaigns

conducted to manage brand protection strategies at Tata Steel. Further, research paper discusses
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 50

initiatives of some other Indian companies who are thriving strong to manage protection of their

respective brands.

Keywords: Brand Protection, Intellectual Property, Counterfeiting, Piracy, Strategy

Introduction

A brand is part of a company's Intellectual Property. Therefore managing brand really

means managing the IP. The Dictionary of Business and Management defines a brand as: "A

name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them

from goods of competitors". Brand is considered as one of the most valuable intellectual assets

of any organisation. Protection of this intellectual capital is as important as protection of other

tangible assets in the business. Brand Management involves formulation of effective strategies

regarding creation of brand, its promotion and growth and finally its protection. Brand protection

basically focuses on safeguarding brand against intellectual property crimes like counterfeiting

and piracy. Further brand protection management concerns with devising suitable strategies with

regard to protection of brand against infringers. Management of brand Protection has become

increasingly complex for companies in India which is one of the fastest growing markets in the

world. Indian companies are thriving hard to protect their Intellectual Property, their brands by

legal protection. This is where intellectual property comes in since IP laws play a crucial part in

managing brands effectively. Focus has also changed from local to global brands. An example of

a company in India that has managed to achieve international recognition through deployment of

international brand management techniques is the Tata group. Tata group is one of the largest

steel makers in the world. A large conglomerate of diversified companies, it has recently

acquired foreign companies and is one of the few Indian companies to do so. . Tata brand has
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 51

been ranked as the first Indian brand to be in the top 50 club of global brands as per the Brand

Finance's Global 500 report in March 2011. The group's brand value is pegged at $15.8 billion.

Its main plant is located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, with its recent acquisitions, the company has

become a multinational with operations in various countries. The Jamshedpur plant contains the

DCS supplied by Honeywell. The registered office of Tata Steel is in Mumbai. The company

was also recognized as the world's best steel producer by World Steel Dynamics in 2005.

Management of brand protection is directly connected with management of intellectual property

rights. Intellectual property management aims at taking strategic approach of planning,

organizing, directing, controlling and allocating resources and infrastructure facilities, in a way

that, inventors or IPR holders can reap maximum benefit from their inventions. It focuses on

safeguarding creators and other producers of intellectual goods and services by granting them

certain time-limited rights to control the use made of those productions. Similarly, brand

protection management is concerned with devising suitable strategies focusing on proper

planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling initiatives to safeguard brand

against intellectual property crimes like counterfeiting and piracy.

Successful brands are being counterfeited and sold on an unprecedented scale in India

due to the sheer size of the domestic market, high price sensitivity, improper coordination among

enforcement agencies, and lack of knowledge among customers. Rising brand consciousness

among the youth is contributing to the growth of counterfeited products in India. As

multinationals (MNCs) enter India in the wake of World Trade Organization (WTO) and Trade

Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) related reforms, their branded products

quickly attract the attention of sophisticated counterfeiting syndicates who increasingly have

access to hi-tech production and the latest facilities. This phenomenon is not restricted to MNCs
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 52

only, there are over 400 companies beginning with the word 'Reliance' and around 136

companies with the word 'Tata' in India.

Counterfeit and piracy in India is witnessed across sectors; fake medicines are estimated

to occupy between 15 to 20 percent of the total Indian market. The Indian market is not only

flooded with spurious competition from allopathic drugs, but also fake homeopathic drugs. The

music industry has not been spared; 40 percent of its production ends up being copied and

distributed illegally in India. It is estimated that 1 in every 3 automotive parts are copied.

Spurious car parts take up an estimated 45 percent of the auto component market in India. The

impact of counterfeiting in the FMCG sector is around 8-10 percent of revenues, 3 thereby,

hampering the quality of goods as well as raising health concerns. Overall assessment of the

scale of counterfeit market activity by conducting in-depth field investigations may help in

determining the weakest link in the counterfeit supply chain. Attacking the weakest link by

deploying the right management tools may help in finding a practical solution for the problem.

This research is thus an initiative to study brand protection management strategies in Indian

companies with special reference to the case of Tata Steel Limited.

Research Methodology

Fundamentally, this piece of research is an exploratory study focuses on the case of an

Indian corporate giant unraveling its strategies toward management of brand protection.

Company profile and history has been studied by way of secondary data sources whereas

primary data has been collected via interviewing technique. In order to have a clear insight into

Tata Steel Brand Protection Management System, an In Depth personal interview has been

conducted with Mr. Suhail Qureshi, Senior Manager Brand Protection Tata Steel Ltd. the
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 53

questions in interview were all open ended questions with the help of which a conceptual model

„5-C Strategic Brand Protection Campaign Tata Steel‟ has been prepared. Model establishes the

base for policy makers in companies for better brand protection initiatives and strategies.

Brand Protection at Tata Steel Limited

The modern iron and steel industry in India owes its origin to the grand vision and

perseverance of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. The Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (Tata

Steel) was registered in Bombay on 26th August 1907. Tata Steel, formerly known as TISCO

and Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited, is the world's seventh largest steel company, with an

annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tonnes. It is the largest private sector steel company in

India in terms of domestic production. Ranked 258th on Fortune Global 500, it is based in

Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. It is part of Tata Group of companies. Tata Steel is also India's

second-largest and second-most profitable company in private sector with consolidated revenues

of Rs.132,110 crore (US$29.2 billion) and net profit of over Rs.12,350 crore (US$2.73 billion)

during the year ended March 31, 2008. Brand Protection activities in Tata Steel had been started

in 1996 by the Agrico Division after noticing significant downfall in sales of Tata Agrico

products due to the sell of counterfeited goods in respective areas. After finding root cause of

deteriorating sales, marketing officer Mr. Suhail Qureshi initiated the idea of brand protection

management and with collaboration of top management organized the department of Brand

Protection in Tata Steel limited. As Tata Steel started taking firm strides in branding its steel

products, it recognized the need to not only promote and build the equity of its various brands

but also protect them. As a result, a formal Brand Protection Department was formed in April
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 54

2002, under the aegis of the Brand Management & Corporate Marketing Department, and Mr.

Suhail Qureshi was brought in as Senior Manager – Brand Protection.

The Brand Protection Department was formed with the dual objectives of:

 Protection of Tata Steel manufactured products by preventing counterfeit goods

being sold under Tata Steel‟s name, and

 Preventing sale of steel products not manufactured by Tata Steel but being sold

under Brands or Trademarks registered / used by the company or using the Tata

name.

Strategies and Initiatives

Tata Steel Brand Protection strategies focus on protection of „Tata‟ brand by implementing

effective campaigns in identified locations. Following figure shows how brand protection

strategic campaigns are conducted by the department.

Figure 1: 5-C Strategic Brand Protection Campaign Model at Tata Steel Limited

Stage 1 – 1st C – Counterfeiter’s Identification: Tata Steel distributors can be found almost at

every small and big region of the country. These distributors keep an eye on infringers if any

active in their localities. Through market vigilance, infringers are identified in particular
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 55

locations. Sometimes local informers are also used to extract the information regarding

counterfeiting of products in the area.

Stage 2 – 2nd C – Confirmation of Information: After receiving information from local parties,

brand protection team consisting of manager brand protection, technical consultants and a legal

representative reach the identified location. They make some mock purchases of these

counterfeited products, inspect the elements of infringement and if found these elements present

in the product, they finally declare goods as of spurious nature.

Stage 3 – 3rd C – Collaboration with Regulatory Bodies: After goods being identified as

counterfeited, brand protection team collaborates with local regulatory bodies including local

police in order to conduct raids. On ground of infringement of intellectual property right police

prepare to take action against infringers by conducting these raids.

Stage 4 – 4th C – Conduction of Raids: In collaboration with local police, well programmed

raids are conducted on counterfeiter‟s location. Police seize all fake material and seal the

location. At many locations there are nodal regulatory agencies which look after serious

offences of intellectual property crimes. They also provide help if case is found at their locations

but these types of agencies are scanty in our country.

Stage 5 – 5th C – Case Follow Up: After raid is conducted case is forwarded to legal machinery

for further proceedings. Brand protection team now follows up the case by giving proper

feedback if required, by attending summons and by keeping appropriated records related to

particular case.

So far Tata Steel brand protection department has conducted more than 270 raids across the

country detail of which could be seen in table 1

 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 56

Table 1: Tata Steel Ltd. Year-wise Campaigns and Police Raids

Period Campaigns Police Raids

11-5-96 to 31-3-02 (Agrico Department.) 12 51

The Brand Protection Dept. was formed in April 02

Financial Year 2003 4 12

Financial Year 2004 4 9

Financial Year 2005 9 24

Financial Year 2006 7 32

Financial Year 2007 8 27

Financial Year 2008 6 25

Financial Year 2009 6 15

Financial Year 2010 2 8

Financial Year 2011 (Till Sep-2011) 3 12

Other Brand Protection Champions in India

Brand Protection at Dabur India Limited

Dabur India is one of the largest consumer goods companies in the country, specializing in

personal and healthcare products, and has been a perennial target for counterfeiters. Now the

company has decided to fight back against the fakers, collaborating with the Indian authorities in

order to mount a series of raids on manufacturing facilities believed to be involved in the

production of counterfeits.

Like other corporate giants Dabur also believe in the simplest brand protection tactic. Find,

investigate and then conduct the raids on counterfeiters. Stepping up its efforts to curb the

menace of counterfeit products in the market, India‟s leading FMCG Company Dabur India Ltd,
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 57

along with local authorities, has busted a racket involving manufacture of spurious Dabur Amla

Hair Oil in the national capital.

Proctor and Gamble India

P&G Home Products Limited is one of India's fastest growing Fast Moving Consumer

Goods Companies that has in its portfolio P&G's global brands such as Ariel and Tide in the

Fabric Care segment, and in the Hair Care segment: Head & Shoulders - world's largest selling

anti-dandruff shampoo; Pantene - world's No. 1 beauty shampoo; and Rejoice - Asia's No. 1

shampoo. The approach of Procter and Gamble Brand Protection strategy includes:

Increase emphasis on prevention via:

 Supply Chain Security & Design

 Zero Cost Features & Technologies

 “Demand dampening” programmes that reward loyalty and dissuade

 Dstributors, retailers and consumers from buying from non authorized sources

 Strengthen their efforts against enforcement via: Partner with law enforcement –

education, forensics etc; develop stronger third party investigator agency partnerships and

focus on factory investigations – find root cause not symptoms

Hindustan Unilever and Brand Protection

Counterfeit products not only cheat the consumer but also evade taxes and thus cheat the

government. Hindustan Uniliver‟s efforts in consumer protection extend to their action against
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 58

counterfeiters. Company‟s in-house investigation department and external agencies are dedicated

to identifying and taking action against counterfeiters and look-alike product manufacturers.

Hindustan Unilever‟s Brand Protection Strategy entails following tasks:

 Trade Mark journey Plan

 Market surveys for infringements/counterfeits

 Understand business dynamics and identify the market operation of the counterfeiters

 Ascertain status of the party – financial, political and reputation

 Information regarding enforcement agencies

Conclusion

Brand in form of goodwill of a business is considered as the most important property of

the business. To maintain brand equity management of brand protection has become an

important concern for policy makers. In India companies are thriving hard with all their

resources to protect their brands against counterfeiting and piracy which pose serious harm to the

goodwill and sales of brands. Where companies like Hindustan Unilever Limited, Dabur India

Limited and Proctor and Gamble India Limited are managing protection of their brands by

investing huge resources, Tata Steel India Limited is also on its way to achieve competitive

advantage by implementing suitable brand protection strategies. Although Tata Steel‟s efforts are

quite visible by its initiatives, still there are certain drawbacks in the system found out by

research. Quantitative assessment and measurement of losses due to counterfeit activities and

benefits brand protection activities are bringing should be properly done. In Tata Steel, emphasis

on quantitative assessment of losses and benefits is quite low. This is why efforts of the

department and its importance can not be measured in proven terms. Further, more attention is
 Journal of Marketing and Management, 3 (1), 49-59, May 2012 59

required on expansion of department and its activities as department is still „One Man Army‟.

Senior manager brand protection is one who looks after all the arrangements of the

implementation of strategies. Result of Low emphasis on department‟s growth is significant by

Table 1 which shows decline of number of campaigns after financial year 2007. More

specialized employees in field of brand management and intellectual property protection are

required in the department. Tata steel top management support and coordination is highly

required to make system work effectively.

References

The Economics Time (2011) Retrieved from: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-

03-22/news/29174646_1_tata-brand-global-brands-brand-value

Tata Steel (2011) Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Steel

Tata Steel (2008) Retrieved from: http://www.tatasteel100.com/story-of-steel/index.asp

Phil Taylor (2009) Dabur India mounts campaign against product fakers, Retrieved from:

http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/339.php

Our Brands, Proctor and Gamble (2001) Retrieved from: http://www.pg-

india.com/hp/brands.htm

Hindustan Lever Limited – Reports and Accounts (2002) Retrieved from:

http://www.hul.co.in/Images/AnnualReport02_CommitmentsAndPerformanceTrends_tc

m114-136772.pdf

Saswata Dhar-HLL FICCI (2011) Retrieved from:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10235396/Saswata-Dhar-HLL---FICCI
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