On February 10, 2015, the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) – a new organization formed by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) – launched the Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, a voluntary industry initiative to help prevent online ad-supported piracy and the illegal dissemination of counterfeit goods.
Stu Ingis, Tara Potashnik, David Strickland, Chan Lieu and Marissa Kibler led the drafting of the program's framework, called the Core Criteria for Effective Digital Advertising Assurance. The Core Criteria for Effective Digital Advertising Assurance sets forth elements to identify and screen out websites and other properties that do not meet an advertiser's standards for risk of infringement. Companies that successfully complete the validation are designated by TAG as Digital Advertising Assurance Providers ("DAAPs").
Companies and organizations in advertising, online publishing, adtech, media, and consumer protection have announced their support of the program, including:
- Advertising: Association of National Advertisers (ANA), American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), GroupM Interaction
- Advertising Technology: Collective, DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science, L-3 and MiMTiD, sovrn, Veri-Site, whiteBULLET
- Media: Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), CreativeFuture, Copyright Alliance
- Consumer Protection: International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC)
A wide variety of publications have covered Venable’s work with the Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, including The Wall Street Journal, Multichannel News, AdExchanger, and MediaPost.
"This cross-industry system is designed to help advertisers and their agencies identify and avoid the properties that are leveraging their brands to support illegal activity." - Stu Ingis, Partner, Venable LLP, MediaPost
For more information about the Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, please see Trustworthy Accountability Group's website.