Law Enforcement, Industry Hold Event Against IP Crime At UN

NEW YORK – An event of international law enforcement, security experts and industry this week at the United Nations headquarters in New York aimed at building strategies against a wide range of intellectual property crime worldwide. At the event, a senior United States official discussed plans to toughen law enforcement and expand a program of US IP experts abroad.

The closed-door 28-29 August event is co-hosted by Interpol, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), in partnership with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC).

The meeting, held for the first time in the United States according to a speaker, was entirely closed to the press after the initial opening ceremony. It was not clear whether representatives of the consumer and user communities were present. But the event could be followed on Twitter at @INTERPOL_TIGC, and #IPCrimeConference.

A press release stated that “Through a review of operational case studies, best practices and industry perspectives, the 11th annual International Law Enforcement IP Crime Conference also aims to shape effective enforcement strategies.”

Some 600 participants from more than 60 countries focused on “evolving crime trends in areas such as illicit trafficking on the Internet, as well as on protecting the public from potentially harmful products,” the release said.

The event included a focus on organised crime. “We are attacking transnational criminal organizations at all points in the global supply chain by working with our international partners to identify foreign manufacturers engaged in piracy and dismantle their production capabilities,” Acting ICE Deputy Director Peter T. Edge was quoted as saying.

The release cited a major recent seizure of more than 420 tonnes of illicit pharmaceutical and medical products worth approximately USD 21.8 million. The goods were seized during Operation Heera in West Africa. “INTERPOL coordinated the operation which saw law enforcement forces collaborate with multi-agency stakeholders in the region,” it said.

“With illicit markets expanding globally, INTERPOL’s role is fundamental in facilitating international efforts aimed at dismantling the transnational organized crime groups involved in illicit trafficking,” Interpol Executive Director of Police Services Tim Morris said in the release.

The Interpol Illicit Goods and Global Health programme “encompasses all industry sectors and products affected by this serious organized crime area. It works with stakeholders to address a range of IP crimes which include illicit medicines, electronics, food and drink,” the release added.

US Expanding IP Experts Abroad

United States Justice Department Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in remarks to the event highlighted the importance of the issue to the current administration. He detailed the risks and costs involved in intellectual property crime, and gave several examples of successful efforts against counterfeiters, online pirates and others.

And described the various initiatives the department is undertaking.

In the coming weeks, he said, the US will be posting IP experts in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Bucharest, and Abuja, Nigeria.

“Our coordinators will be a resource for regional cooperation, and an important point of contact for industry and for our law enforcement colleagues. I encourage each of you to contact the nearest coordinator. They are eager to work with you,” he said. “As they expand our network, they will play an increasing role in developing our knowledge of the patterns and techniques of intellectual property criminals.”

On department initiatives, Rosenstein said:

“We plan to direct every component of our Department that plays a role in intellectual property enforcement to join in a national Intellectual Property Task Force to explore new approaches to combat the theft of intellectual property. We will rely on both criminal and civil enforcement. We will promote international cooperation. We will build expertise in understanding the technological aspects of the problem. And we will increase our public outreach to promote awareness of the harms caused by intellectual property violations.”

The department is strengthening its ability to pursue charges against criminals through the more than 260 Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Coordinators placed throughout the nation, in its 93 US attorneys’ offices, he said. The department also has a Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in Washington, DC with more than 45 attorneys on these issues.

The department established a Cybercrime Lab with expert technologists, he added.

Rosenstein touched on the tension between enforcement of IP rights and ensuring access to protected material for users, and future innovators.

“Intellectual property enforcement does not prevent retailers from selling inexpensive products, or stop customers from getting bargains,” he said. “Entrepreneurs are free to manufacture discount items and sell them using novel brand names. Innovators can create and market new songs, movies, books and computer programs. They just cannot sell anything that belongs to someone else.”

Rosenstein also acknowledged the reality that some people knowingly buy fake products that look like the original just because they cannot afford the original but want to look fashionable. But others do not know and can be put at risk.

“Some consumers knowingly buy knock-off items to gain the cachet of owning brand-name merchandise without paying the price for the real thing,” he said. “But many consumers are victimized by unscrupulous sellers who market counterfeit products without disclosing that they are not authentic.”

 

Image Credits: Interpol