Crane Authentication (NXT)

From Pokémon beauty products to Toy Story’s Pizza Planet experiences, character licensing is moving far beyond toys, games, and traditional merchandise. For licensors, that creates huge opportunities to reach fans in new ways. But it also raises an important question: ❓ How do character licensors keep control as they move across more categories, partners, and channels? As licensing programmes grow, every new category and consumer touchpoint brings more to manage – from approvals and assets to compliance, royalties, and brand protection. ❗ Creative expansion only works when licensors can maintain visibility and control across the full licensing lifecycle. In his new article for Total Licensing Ltd, Jim Keller, our VP Technology, Innovation & Product, explores the ways character licensing is evolving and how licensors can protect brand integrity while giving fans authentic new ways to engage. 📃 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eHKjdj5M #BrandLicensing #LicensingManagement #CharacterLicensing #BrandProtection  

Protecting brands online requires more than technology. It requires collaboration.   Just recently, our team visited Meta's London office to meet with members of their Brand Rights Protection (BRP) team, including Deanna Vollmer and Anson Fraser, to exchange best practices for IP reporting and share feedback gathered from our clients across #EMEA.   Having direct access to platform teams allows us to advocate for our clients, raise complex infringement cases and contribute ideas that can help improve the tools used to protect brands online.   A big thank you to Deanna, Anson, and the wider Meta team for the productive discussion, and to Ilaria Gironi, Nadeesha Epasinghe, Sejal L., and our EMEA Customer Success Managers for helping strengthen this important partnership.

🎉 Celebrating one year of Crane Authentication! 🎉 One year ago, Crane Authentication was created to help organizations protect what matters most – trust. By bringing together the strengths of De La Rue Authentication and OpSec Security, we combined more than 110 years of specialist expertise across licensing, product authentication, traceability, online brand protection, government solutions, and identity security. Our ambition was to connect authentication across the full lifecycle, helping brands and governments protect products, partners, identities and revenues across physical and digital environments. Over the past year, Crane Authentication has: ✅ Protected more than 16 billion products with secure labels for governments, brands, and licensing customers worldwide ✅ Enabled over 2.6 million compliant online enforcements Behind those numbers are brands protected, illicit activities disrupted, and consumers safeguarded. Most importantly, this milestone is a reflection of the expertise, dedication and collaboration of our teams around the world. Thank you to everyone who has helped shape Crane Authentication's first year. 🥳 Read the full blog to learn more about our first year and what’s next: https://lnkd.in/gM75EYyy #CraneAuthentication #Authentication #BrandProtection #AntiCounterfeiting #OnlineBrandProtection

What do Lego video games, Heinz x Absolut cooking sauces, and The Devil Wears Prada 2 brand collaborations have in common? ⤵️ ➡️ They all show why the best brand collaborations need to feel timely, credible, and genuinely fresh to the audiences they are trying to reach. As co-branding partnerships become more frequent and ambitious, the bar for success is rising – and so is the complexity. Delivering collaborations now means managing more partners, more assets, and more approvals, often under increasing pressure. For licensors, success depends on more than creative fit. It requires brand control, clear approval processes, protected assets, and the ability to move quickly without compromising quality. 📃 Tiffanie Lane, Senior Product Manager for Crane Authentication’s Licensing Management System, explains more in this new article for Creative Bloq: https://lnkd.in/e9BRpEE9 #LicensingManagement #BrandLicensing #BrandCollaborations #BrandProtection 

⚠️ Most brands view infringement as a risk to manage. But what if it was a source of market intelligence? When counterfeit listings, impersonation attempts and grey market activity appear across marketplaces, social platforms, and resale channels, they leave behind valuable signals. Those signals can help brands understand where buyers are turning to unofficial channels, where legitimate access is limited, and where there may be opportunities to strengthen distribution or enter new markets. Connected with broader business insight, enforcement intelligence informs wider commercial decisions and unlocks hidden growth opportunities, while helping brands protect consumers and strengthen reputation. In this new article for World Trademark Review, our very own Director of Product Management, Online, Stefanie Wood explains why brands should view infringement intelligence as more than a protective measure. 👉 Read it now: https://lnkd.in/gAv4js2c #OnlineBrandProtection #BrandProtection #FraudProtection #AntiCounterfeiting  

Great to be part of the ongoing conversations at the INDICAM Forum in Milan, where industry leaders are addressing the evolving challenges of intellectual property, compliance and the growing role of AI in brand protection. Across the sessions, one message is clear. Protecting brands today requires more than visibility. It requires deeper intelligence, validation and consistent enforcement to address real risk. As Ilaria Gironi, Sales Director at Crane Authentication (NXT), shared: “Brand protection today is not just about identifying issues. It’s about understanding the full scope of the threat, validating what truly matters and taking action that delivers lasting impact.” Valuable perspectives and practical approaches as the industry continues to tackle counterfeiting and strengthen #BrandProtection strategies.

Following a successful few days at Identity Week Europe in Amsterdam, Crane Authentication highlighted the breadth of its security and authentication expertise, showcasing highly secure solutions that help governments and organisations protect identities, secure critical documents, and help combat fraud. Identity Week marked an important milestone for Crane Authentication, bringing together the combined heritage, technology, and expertise of De La Rue Authentication Solutions, Crane NXT, and OpSec Security. One year on from their integration, Crane Authentication has established itself as a global leader in authentication technologies, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios of security solutions. Visitors to the Crane Authentication stand explored a wide range of technologies designed to deliver intuitive, reliable, and highly secure identification and authentication. From advanced polycarbonate data pages and secure identity documents to innovative authentication features including: - Hidden Portrait, a highly secure personalized secondary image encapsulated in the core layers of the data page and only revealed in transmission. - Fibre Hinge, a secure and durable hinge solution that enables the data page to be seamlessly integrated into a passport book. - Woven thread, a security thread interlaced between the polycarbonate layers, an unparalleled anti-counterfeiting feature. During the event, Christoph Husmann presented how Crane Authentication’s advanced security features, polycarbonate data pages, and identity card solutions enable governments to issue highly secure credentials that protect against identity theft, fraud, document tampering, and organised crime. These solutions play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of national identity systems and supporting trusted interactions between citizens, governments, and businesses. To learn more, visit https://lnkd.in/eekC6nYD. That's a wrap on Identity Week Europe 2026. Thank you to everyone who visited our stand, attended the presentation, and engaged with our team throughout the event. We look forward to continuing the conversations and seeing you again next year #IdentityWeekEurope #IDW2026

The FIFA World Cup kicks off tomorrow – and for licensing teams, the pace is already accelerating. Our latest blog explores how mobile approvals and centralized licensing workflows help: ✅ Keep programs moving ✅ Deliver fan-ready merchandise at speed ✅ Maintain brand control and consistency Read our blog to find out more: https://lnkd.in/e7Pnj4wy #BrandLicensing #Sports #WorldCup #LMS #MobileApprovals

We're excited to be in Amsterdam, showcasing our latest innovations in authentication and #identitysecurity and connecting with industry leaders from around the world. It was great to see strong interest in Christoph Husmann's presentation on strengthening polycarbonate identity document security and exploring advanced security features designed to enhance protection against counterfeiting and tampering. If you're attending, visit us at Stand 634 to meet the team and learn more. #IdentityWeekEurope #IDW2026

We’re heading to #IdentityWeek in Amsterdam, June 9–10.   In this short video, Benedicte Hennebo, VP of Government Sales at Crane Authentication, shares what we’ll be focusing on at the event and why it matters for government agencies today.   You’ll find us at RAI Amsterdam, Hall 8, Stand 634, where we’ll be talking about secure identity, authentication technologies, and how to strengthen protection against fraud and counterfeiting.   If you’re attending, stop by to meet the team and discuss your next ID program.   Also, don’t miss Christoph Husmann speaking during the event.   See you in Amsterdam. #IdentityWeekEurope #IDW2026