U.S. Law Enforcement Will Target High Tech Corridors

To Fight Piracy and Counterfeiting Surge

The Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Customs Service introduced a law enforcement initiative aimed at combating the growing challenge of piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property, both domestically and internationally.

Key components of the Intellectual Property Rights Initiative include:

Increasing the priority of criminal IP investigations and prosecutions, increased criminal penalties for infringement and developing training programs on IPR for state and local officials to get illegal product off the streets.

The FBI has one of its white collar crime priorities. "Intellectual property elevated intellectual property crime to criminals are organized, well-funded, and use the tools of the Internet and modern telecommunications. To effectively protect the trade secrets our citizens develop through research and development, we need to outmatch the criminals. That means that domestic industries should enjoy legal protection under intellectual property laws ”, said an FBI official.

The U.S. Customs Service has asked Congress to fund an effortto collect and analyze domestic and world-wide intelligence on the new patterns in intellectual property crime. The Customs Service and other law enforcement and intelligence sources are concerned about the increasing involvement of organized criminal gangs in high-volume counterfeiting. "We are seizing record amounts of counterfeit products such as software, music, videos, and clothing. This is why a more focused, coordinated approach is necessary to enhance our ability to identify and apprehend those engaging in criminal activity which cutsat the core ofAmerican business and ingenuity,” said a spokesman for the U.S. Customs Service.

The U.S. Customs Service protects American industry by vigorous enforcement of intellectual property laws and interdicting of illegally-copied goods. FY-1998 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. Customs Service in enforcing intellectual property rights laws, with seizures of nearly $76 million. The combined copyright and trademark industries, according to figures released by the Department of Commerce, represent the second fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy behind Internet-related electronic commerce. An economic study released last month reported that, in 1998, the software industry alone generated employment for 2.7 million Americans, generating $28.2 billion inincome tax revenue. Both the copyright and trademark industries have cited increased infringement both domestically and abroad, particularly Internet-facilitated piracy and the online distribution of counterfeit products, as presenting a significant threat to increased growth in this vital economic area. Only in 1998 software piracy cost the U.S. $991 million in tax revenue. The IP offenses are believed to be committed by organized criminal syndicates, other high volume or consequential intellectual property crimes and threaten public health and safety.

www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrim

Practicum 4.10