Front Page	E-mail PagePrint Version

Department of Justice would expand overseas intellectual property training programs

WASHINGTON, DC – 05/17/07 – The US Justice Department (DOJ) has sent to Congress the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007, the draft of a new law calling for stronger penalties for repeat offenders and would increase the maximum penalty for counterfeiting offenses if the defendant “knowingly and recklessly causes serious bodily injury or death.”

Announcing the move, US Attorney general Alberto Gonzales said, “Violations of intellectual property rights (IPR) not only deprive legitimate businesses of millions of dollars and undercut innovation but often pose serious threat to human safety and health.”

To be considered by Congress, a draft bill sent by the Administration must be sponsored by one or more members of Congress.  To become a law, identical versions of a bill must be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president.

At the same time, the Bush Administration also announced plans to expand its efforts to improve intellectual property enforcement in key countries. Many counterfeit goods, particularly pharmaceuticals, are imported from overseas markets.

According to the draft bill, serious body injury could carry a penalty of 10 years to 20 years in prison, and up to life imprisonment if counterfeiting results in death, according to a senior Justice Department official.

Although some may think violations of intellectual property rights have purely economic effects on so-called “faceless corporations,” the reality is much different, especially when medical and pharmaceutical products are concerned, the attorney general said in comments made at the US Chamber of Commerce.

“Imagine a heart patient undergoing emergency surgery at a hospital that unknowingly purchased substandard counterfeit surgical equipment or medication,” he said.

Gonzales added that the new bill would “hit the criminals in their wallet” and make sure they lose all illicit profits and any property used to commit the crime.

This summer, the Justice Department will establish a second IP law enforcement coordinator in Sofia, Bulgaria, to improve the department’s international cooperation and outreach.

The first Justice Department IP coordinator was installed in 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Gonzales said he recently traveled to Brazil to discuss joint operations to combat intellectual property crime.

The issue of intellectual property violations will also reportedly be on the table at the G8 justice and interior ministers meeting next week in Munich, Germany.

As criminal organizations benefiting from intellectual property theft are becoming more sophisticated and better organized, the DOJ is dedicating more resources and increasing the number of investigations and prosecutions to protect intellectual property rights, Gonzales said.

For example, in 2006 federal investigations resulted in 57% more convictions for copyright and trademark offenses than in 2005 and the number of defendants receiving prison terms of more than two years has grown by 130%, he said.

Modern technology has given inventors and creators unprecedented opportunities to share the fruits of their hard work with audiences and communities throughout the world, Gonzales said.

But the same technology also has made it easy to copy and trade pirated and counterfeit goods across national borders, he added.

“Those who seek to undermine the cornerstone of US economic competitiveness and recklessly put human well-being at risk believe they are beyond the reach of the law,” said Gonzales. “It is our responsibility and commitment to show them that they are wrong.”

Go back, or read the latest Front Page stories:

Stiffer Toy Import Oversight Sought

WASHINGTON, DC � 09/13/07 � A number of senior-level executives in the US toy and retail industries have called on Congress to enact legislation to strengthen inspections of imports, particularly imports of toys from China; the move comes as Mattel, the largest toy maker in the world, recently announced its third recall of China-sourced toys in a month over growing concerns about a number of consumer safety issues.