INCOPRO secures $21m from Highland Europe to expand IP protection platform

INCOPRO, the specialist in online brand and intellectual property protection, has raised $21m from growth equity investor Highland Europe.

Sam Brooks and Gajan Rajanathan from Highland Europe are joining the INCOPRO board.

The London-based company will use the investment to accelerate the development of its Talisman online brand protection technology to help businesses safeguard their brands from counterfeit and piracy threats online.

INCOPRO will also expand its existing operations in China, as well as strengthen its presence in the United States and Europe.

The firm combines the legal and technical expertise of its co-founders Simon Baggs (CEO) and Bret Boivin (CTO), with the law enforcement and intelligence background of Helen Saunders (COO) to deliver solutions to companies facing the threat of IP infringement on a global scale.

Simon Baggs, INCOPRO’s co-founder and CEO, said: “Online IP infringement is a global issue that affects companies in all sectors, from luxury goods to automotive spare parts.

“The internet revolution has created a massive challenge for businesses seeking to protect their products and brands from counterfeiting and other forms of brand abuse online. Until now, brands have not been offered the tools to effectively deal with this threat.

“Talisman uses cutting-edge technology to identify and enforce not just individual infringements, but whole networks of illicit behaviour. This unique, intelligence-driven enforcement strategy has a lasting impact on counterfeiters, benefitting clients’ bottom lines. It is crucial that an online brand protection strategy truly addresses the root of the problem, rather than just playing a game of ‘whack-a-mole’ - and that is how we have built Talisman.”

Talisman monitors IP infringements by searching the web in real time using machine learning technology, pulling in data from platforms ranging from online marketplaces and social media through to websites and app stores.

Intelligent algorithms prioritise the key issues for clients and its automated network analysis identifies sophisticated, large-scale operators.

The removal of each identified infringement typically occurs within eight to 24 hours, with a 99% success rate.

INCOPRO is also using the investment the expand its workforce. Following the recent addition of Johannes Hertz as CFO, the firm has announced the appointment of Chris Hardy as chief revenue officer.

Sam Brooks, partner of Highland Europe, commented: “As experienced e-commerce and marketplace investors, we are intimately familiar with both the opportunity and the challenge that brands face from the global secular shift of retail and media consumption. We believe that the scale of the challenge for brand and IP owners is enormous and growing in complexity.

“We have been impressed by the deep domain expertise that Simon, Bret, Helen and the INCOPRO team have leveraged to build such a compelling platform, protecting the interests of some of the best-known brands globally.”

Houlihan Loukey acted as financial advisor to INCOPRO on this transaction.

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