San Francisco, CA and Austin, TX – (September 30, 2025) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now has a new tool to assist in combatting counterfeiting, the result of a collaboration that brings together strategic legal guidance and cutting-edge technology.
Sideman & Bancroft LLP and its affiliate True Pedigree worked with the Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA) to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with One Device, a smartphone-based platform that assists in the authentication of products from multiple AGMA member companies. Instead of requiring hundreds of brand-specific tools, One Device consolidates authentication applications into a single device, supported by True Pedigree’s technology infrastructure. In addition to hosting company-specific authentication applications, the platform delivers real-time analytics and intelligence dashboards for CBP and participating companies. AGMA is a nonprofit coalition of many of the world’s leading technology companies, distributors, and service providers.
“It was rewarding to work closely with AGMA on the legal framework that enabled this donation,” said Richard Nelson, a True Pedigree Co-Founder, and the Sideman & Bancroft Partner who led the transaction resulting in CBP accepting the devices under its Donation Acceptance Program. “Helping clients protect their intellectual property and bring innovative solutions to market is at the core of our practice.”
Unlike traditional tools limited to single brands or product lines, One Device can be deployed across a wide range of industries, giving CBP a versatile solution to stop counterfeit goods at scale. The device provides real time verification, assisting officers in determining product authenticity at the border.
“The One Device platform was designed from the ground up for field use – fast, accurate, and adaptable across industries,” said Shelley Raina, CEO of True Pedigree. “Partnering with CBP and AGMA on this initiative allows our technology to make a direct impact where it matters most: helping CBP analyze products at the border before they reach American businesses and households.”
While AGMA’s current focus is on technology companies and their brands in B2B markets, One Device has the potential for much broader application. In the future, the same technology could be used to authenticate pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, automotive parts, and other categories where counterfeit risks threaten safety, innovation, and trust.
In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, CBP seized nearly 20,000 shipments containing 32 million counterfeit items, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $5.4 billion if genuine – a 39% increase over the prior year.
“This project reflects the unique combination of legal and technological capabilities that Sideman & Bancroft and True Pedigree bring to the table,” said Jeff Hallam, Sideman & Bancroft’s Managing Partner and a Co-Founder of True Pedigree. “We are proud to have advised AGMA and supported True Pedigree in delivering an innovation that will strengthen CBP’s mission, protect consumers, and safeguard U.S. commerce.”
About Sideman & Bancroft
Sideman & Bancroft represents clients ranging from startups to global corporations on matters spanning intellectual property, litigation, tax controversy, and estate planning. Its Brand Integrity and Innovation Group brings together attorneys with prosecutorial backgrounds, corporate brand protection executives, and investigators to provide global anti-counterfeiting, trademark clearance, customs support, supply chain integrity, and grey market enforcement solutions.
About True Pedigree
True Pedigree is a technology provider of data-driven brand protection software solutions, helping companies safeguard their products and reputations against counterfeiting, gray market diversion, and other brand integrity challenges. True Pedigree partners with brands worldwide, providing innovative and customized software solutions to combat threats, enhance supply chain integrity, and strengthen brand confidence in the global marketplace.
