Our industry is international by nature. Protecting patients from counterfeit drugs is partly a humanitarian mission and partly a business. Consequently, I don’t worry much about who is looking for information on RxTrace. I have happily fielded queries from Russia, China and even Iran, countries who are not always political “friends” of my beloved country.
But what if a counterfeiter is seeking information to help them circumvent the protections put in place by a regulation or by a company protecting its brand? In my view, if the technology put in place can be circumvented just by knowing what it is, then that technology offers insufficient protection and should be abandoned. An anti-counterfeiting and brand protection technology should work by its proper implementation and secrecy of certain configuration details, but not of the technology itself. And looking for “enemies” by country of origin is a mistake, because a query to RxTrace from someone right here in the United States could be just as ill-intended as one from North Korea (one country I have not received any queries from…that I know of).
As writer focusing on an international business and an international fight against supply chain crime, I am happy to share public information about technologies and regulations that are used for that purpose, particularly when they are based on international standards. I guess you could say that I offer my handshake to just about anyone in the world at any time, through RxTrace.
But recently I had this very strong urge to explicitly offer my handshake to Germany and its citizens. I’ve met a few people from Germany and I value the work we have done together, but I’m offering my handshake not just to a few people I know. Rather, I am offering it to every citizen of Germany, a country who my country and I have a certain adoration for because of our decades-long mutual love for international commerce, international justice and peace.
We share so much with the citizens of Germany. I share so much with the citizens of Germany, and I feel compelled to offer my hand in appreciation for all that Germany stands for in the world and everything it does. We are allies, and our alliance is eternal—based on our history, and based on the connections of our peoples, not based on any one treaty, one person, or one event.
And so I offer my warm and vigorous handshake to Germany, and thank you for your steadfast alliance with me, and with my country.
Dirk.
As a European citizen I have to thank you to express so vividly your support to openness, dialogue and friendship with a country – Germany- who does deserve your handshake!
Dirk,
A good essay delivered at the right time. I fully agree. It is important that we make sure our friends and partners know how we feel. As an American I certainly value the relationships we have with the people of Germany as well as those in all of our allied countries. We have shared so much in the past and can do so much together for our collective futures. Working together toward common objectives means that the ‘good guy team’ will win.