Report to the President and Congress on Coordination of Intellectual Property Enforcement and Protection

By Nicholas A. Keppel

The National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC) recently issued its fifth annual report to the President and Congress¹. NIPLECC was established in 1999 with the purpose of increasing coordination among several Offices of the Federal Government that are associated, directly or indirectly, with intellectual property. It is charged with the tasks of protecting intellectual property from domestic and overseas theft and with assisting intellectual property owners in enforcing their rights against such theft.

NIPLECC includes the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Trade Representative. NIPLECC is coordinated by the Office of the U.S. Coordinator for Intellectual Property Enforcement to promote global enforcement of intellectual property rights. Within the context of NIPLECC, the Department of Justice enforces criminal and civil laws against intellectual property offenders and coordinates law enforcement counterparts around the world. The Department of Commerce seeks to promote worldwide technologic, scientific, and industrial progress by administering the United States' patent and trademark systems and advocating strong intellectual property protection. The State Department develops and implements intellectual property rights policy and coordinates efforts to enforce intellectual property rights around the world through our embassies, consulates, and missions. The U.S. Trade Representative uses bilateral and trade agreements to promote strong intellectual property rights enforcement worldwide. Finally, Homeland Security, through Customs Border Protection and Immigration and Customs enforcement, is charged with interdicting and seizing counterfeit goods at the nation's borders and ports.

As part of the Administration's Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative, NIPLECC provides resources for educating intellectual property rights owners of their rights and, for those owners who feel that their intellectual property rights have been violated by theft, for reporting such theft. For example, the USPTO manages a hotline (1-866-999-HALT) that helps small business protect their intellectual property rights. Further, the USPTO has launched a website, www.stopfakes.gov/smallbusiness, which is designed to answer common questions so that intellectual property rights owners can identify and address their intellectual property protection needs.

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