MSU Law Adjunct Professor Testifies before
Senate Subcommittee

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, MSU Law Adjunct Professor Kari Kammel discussed the need for balancing the burden for protecting intellectual property rights on e-commerce. She also expressed support for the Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-Commerce (SHOP SAFE) Act, recently introduced by the Subcommittee’s Chair and Ranking Member.

Ms. Kammel testifying before Senate Judiciary Subcommittee

Ms. Kammel, Director of the MSU Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP), testified about the Center’s focus on anti-counterfeiting and its recent global consumer anti-counterfeiting survey. Present at the hearing was MSU Law student Estella Riahi, ’24, who is interning with the American Association of Footwear and Apparel, which endorsed the SHOP SAFE Act. Ms. Riahi has taken both of Ms. Kammel’s Trademark Counterfeiting classes at MSU Law where she excelled, earning the top in class award in both.

The focus of the Senate Subcommittee hearing was legislation recently introduced by Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chair Chris Coons (D-DE) and Ranking Member Thom Tillis (R-NC). The SHOP SAFE Act protects “consumers from harmful counterfeit products that are sold online,” according to the September 28 joint news release announcing the bill. The legislation provides “secondary liability for trademark counterfeiting for online platforms who do not take proactive steps outlined in the bill to protect intellectual property rights owners and consumers.”

Ms. Riahi and Ms. Kammel As Director of the Center, Ms. Kammel promotes the three-pronged agenda of the A-CAPP Center – research, education, and outreach. Her research has included issues pertaining to secondary liability for trademark counterfeiting, U.S. state and Federal law, e-commerce and social media liability for trademark counterfeiting, public international and intellectual property legal issues. The A-CAPP Center focuses on the education of the current and future workforce in brand protection to gain an interdisciplinary understanding of trademark counterfeiting. Through thought leadership and sharing new information, the Center strives to find strategies and solutions to brand protection challenges including providing resources, events, collaborative partnerships and speaking engagements.

Ms. Kammel testified in 2021 before both the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet and the Senate Judiciary Committee on issues pertaining to trademark counterfeiting and online sales by third parties. She received her Juris Doctorate from DePaul University, Master of Arts from the American University in Cairo, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago. Ms. Kammel is also a licensed attorney in Illinois and Michigan. Ms. Riahi is in her third year at the College of Law.