• PRO IP Act First Annual Report 2008-2009
• Intellectual Property Crime Report from 2008 Annual Report
• Intellectual Property Crime Summaries from Attorney General's Reports 1997-2008

National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinating Council (NIPLECC)
 

The National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinating Council (NIPLECC) is an interagency group, created in 1999, responsible for coordinating the United States' domestic and international intellectual property enforcement activities. NIPLECC is co-chaired by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division and the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Other members included the Undersecretary of State for Economics, Business and Agricultural Affairs, the Deputy United States Trade Representative, the Commissioner of Customs and the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.

Pursuant to the PRO-IP Act (see above), the statutory provision creating NIPLECC will be repealed and the interagency coordinating functions of NIPLECC will be superceded once an Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordination has been appointed and confirmed.

Since its creation, NIPLECC has issued a number of reports on the progress and status of U.S. IP enforcement efforts:

• 2008 Report
• 2006 Report
• 2004 Report
• 2003 Report
• 2001-2002 Report

Recent Speeches, Remarks, and Testimony on Intellectual Property

• Testimony of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason M. Weinstein on protecting intellectual property rights, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcomittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement (PDF) (December 9, 2009)

Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Program
 

On June 20, 2006, the Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales highlighted the results of the Progress Report of the Intellectual Property Task Force. At a speech before the United States Chamber of Commerce's Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy program today, he announced that the Task Force has fully implemented all 31 recommendations contained in its 2004 report, and in some cases, went well beyond those recommendations.

• Progress Report of the Department of Justice's Task Force on Intellectual Property (June 2006)

On April 21, 2004 David M. Israelite, Chairman of the Justice Department’s Intellectual Property Task Force, announced the names of those who will join him in serving on the task force, which was created by Attorney General John Ashcroft to examine all aspects of how the Department of Justice handles intellectual property issues and to develop recommendations for future efforts.

On March 9, 2004 Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced the continuation of the Justice Department's Task Force on Intellectual Property and renewed the Department's commitment to aggressively enforce intellectual property laws. The Attorney General also named Kyle Sampson, Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Attorney General, as the new Chairman of the Task Force. Federal prosecutor Arif Alikhan was named Vice Chairman and Executive Director.
 

• Intellectual Property Task Force Chairman David Israelite Announces Task Force Membership, Creation of Working Groups (April 21, 2004)
• Attorney General John Ashcroft Announces Recommendations of the Justice Department's Intellectual Property Task Force (October 12, 2004)
• Report of the Department of Justice's Task Force on Intellectual Property (October 2004)
• Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Renews Commitment to Justice Department's Intellectual Property Task Force (March 9, 2004)
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Joint Anti-Piracy Initiative Launched on July 23, 1999

On July 23, 1999, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Customs service announced the establishment of a law enforcement initiative aimed at combating the growing challenge of piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property, both domestically and internationally. "At the same time that our information economy is soaring, so is intellectual property theft," said Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder. "We are here to send the message that those who steal our intellectual property will be prosecuted. This is theft, pure and simple." Mr. Holder's remarks and a press release describing the announcement of the initiative may be accessed via the links below:
 

• Remarks of Eric H. Holder, Jr., Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, at a Press Conference Announcing the Intellectual Property Rights Initiative, San Jose, California (July 23, 1999)
• Justice Department, FBI and Customs Service to Combat Intellectual Property Crime (July 23, 1999)
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Archived IP-Related Speeches, Remarks, and Testimony
 

• Testimony of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Laura Parsky on Prosecution of Intellectual Property Crimes and the "STOP!" Initiative (June 14, 2005)
• Deputy Assistant Attorney General Laura H. Parsky Remarks before the "The Major Challenges of Intellectual Property Protection" Conference (October 14, 2004)
• Attorney General Reno's article on "The Threat of Digital Theft: Intellectual property theft is faster, costlier and more dangerous than ever" in theStandard.com (Dec. 25, 2000).
• Attorney General Janet Reno's speech on "Protecting Intellectual Property in the Digital Age" before the Symposium of the Americas (September 12, 2000)
• Speech by Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. on law enforcement challenges in the digital age, delivered at the High-Tech Crime Summit in Washington, DC (January 12, 2000)
• Testimony by Roslyn A. Mazer, Special Counsel for Intellectual Property, before the European Commission, in response to its Green Paper on "Combatting Counerfeiting and Piracy in the Single Market" (March 3, 1999)
• Speech by Roslyn A. Mazer, Special Counsel for Intellectual Property, before the European Institute, on "Intellectual Property Protection in the Digital Age" (Nov. 1998)

The Audio Home Recording Act and Napster
 

On September 11, 2000, the Department of Justice filed an amicus curiae brief in the case of A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. solely on the issue of whether Section 1008 of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, 17 U.S.C. §1008, excuses Napster from liability for copyright infringement. A copy of that brief is accessible via the link below:
 

• Department of Justice amicus brief in A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. (filed Sept. 11, 2000)
• Department of Justice amicus brief in A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. (filed Sept. 11, 2000) (PDF document)
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The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and DeCSS

On February 20, 2000, the Department of Justice filed an a brief as an intervenor in the case of Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corely, on appeal from Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes, 82 F. Supp. 2d 211 (S.D.N.Y. 2000), on three issues:

A copy of that brief is accessible via the link below:
 

• Whether, as applied to defendants' dissemination of circumvention technology, the DMCA is consistent with the First Amendment as an appropriate conduct regulation.
• Whether the district court's order enjoining defendants from committing specific violations of the DMCA is both content neutral and sufficiently tailored to satisfy constitutional requirements.
• Whether the district court correctly rejected defendants' overbreadth challenge to the DMCA, where defendants did not violate the statutory provision at the core of their challenge, did not establish an adequate factual record, and where the alleged overbreadth was not substantial in any event.
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• Department of Justice Intervenor Brief in Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corely (filed Feb. 20, 2001)

The Importation of Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals
 

On October 3, 2000, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Patricia Maher testified before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Commerce on the importation of counterfeit pharmaceutical products. Her testimony addresses the health and safety dangers of this practice and highlights some recent prosecutions.
 

• Deputy Assistant Attorney General Patricia Maher's Testimony on Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Commerce (October 3, 2000)

G-8 Experts Meeting on Transborder Intellectual Property Crime
 

On September 18-19, 2000, the United States sponsored the first-ever meeting of law enforcement experts from G-8 countries to discuss trends in trafficking in counterfeiting and pirated merchandise. Read a summary of the meetings from the link below.

• G-8 Experts Meeting on Transborder Intellectual Property Crime (September 18-19, 2000)