The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a new task force on intellectual property in an effort to crack down on a "growing number" of IP crimes in the U.S. and elsewhere, the agency announced.
The task force, announced Friday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, will focus on working with state, local and international law enforcement agencies to "combat intellectual property crimes," the DOJ said in a press release.
The task force will work closely with the recently established White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), which has the responsibility of drafting a strategic plan on IP for President Barack Obama's administration. The task force will recommend ways to improve IP enforcement, the DOJ said.
"The rise in intellectual property crime in the United States and abroad threatens not only our public safety but also our economic well-being," Holder said in a statement. "The Department of Justice must confront this threat with a strong and coordinated response."
U.S. officials have suggested that the counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals, vehicle parts and electronics can endanger the public. In some cases, pirated products also finance large criminal operations, officials have said.
I have to agree, in my limited capacity as a 1L, with the hope of Public Knowledge's president Gigi Sohn that such a task force will focus on the commercially-motivated piracy that does the most damage to rights holders' brands and bottom lines.
No one wants to find out some schmuck is sharing thousands of mp3s via P2P tech, but money lost doesn't seem nearly as damaging as money lost to someone else, who will use it to build out more resources.
This differentiation between "passive" piracy and "active" piracy shouldn't mean the former is left to run rampant while the latter is pursued with all of the government's efforts. But the difference should certainly inform federal anti-piracy policy. Prioritize the money-making pirates, both behind the scenes and in the public eye, and you'll suffer less of a pr fail than the RIAA.
After all, it's much easier for the public to demonize a corporation in support of the little guy than it is for them to champion the right of mass-market pirates to profit from their pilfering.
Okay, I've achieved my morning alliteration.
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