IPEC Issues White Paper on Legislative Recommendations

Posted in News on March 16, 2011

The office of U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) Victoria Espinel has released a long-awaited “white paper” on legislative recommendations to Congress on matters related to intellectual property. Among other recommendations, the IPEC notes that online piracy and counterfeiting are significant concerns for the Administration, and welcomes Congress’ attention to the issue of combating foreign rogue websites. While the report covers a broad spectrum of topics relating to IP, key recommendations include:

• Increasing U.S. Sentencing Guideline ranges for various IP crimes;
• Clarifying that infringement committed by streaming, or other similar technology is a felony;
• Giving law enforcement authority to seek wiretaps in criminal copyright and trademark infringement cases;
• Allowing the Department of Homeland Security to share more information with rights holders when goods are seized or excluded, including providing samples of circumvention devices seized/excluded.

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