- USPTO, CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2011, the Department of State provided funds for 12 training programs for customs, police, and judicial officials from various trading partners including the Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, and Turkey, , as well as regional groups, such as ASEAN, and through regional trainings in East, West, and Central sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. Government works collaboratively on many of these training programs with the private sector and with various international entities such as WIPO, and with regional organizations, such as the APEC Intellectual Property Experts Group.
- The Department of Commerce's Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) provides training to foreign lawmakers, regulators, judges, and educators. CLDP currently works with more than 35 governments and has conducted cooperative programs in Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. For example, CLDP worked with the judiciary in Mali, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Rwanda to improve the skills necessary to fairly, efficiently, and effectively adjudicate IPR cases. CLDP likewise organized interagency bilateral IPR enforcement programs in Ukraine and Pakistan, as well as on a regional level with Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Kenya, and the East African Community member states.
- The DOJ's Criminal Division, funded by the Department of State, and in cooperation with other U.S. agencies provided IPR enforcement training to foreign officials. Topics covered in these programs included cooperation between law enforcement agencies, prosecution under economic and organized crime statutes, and the importance of reducing counterfeiting and piracy. Major ongoing initiatives included multiple programs in Mexico and three regional conferences in Africa.
Trends in Trademark Counterfeiting and Copyright Piracy
The problem of counterfeiting and piracy continues to present local challenges even as it has evolved into a sophisticated global business involving the mass production and far-reaching sales of a vast array of fake goods, including items such as counterfeit medicines, health care products, food and beverages, automobile and airplane parts, toothpaste, shampoos, razors, electronics, batteries, chemicals, sporting goods, motion pictures, and music.
Legitimate producers constantly face illicit competition from trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy operations that diminish their profits and risk harm to consumers who may purchase fraudulent, potentially dangerous products. Where there is rampant counterfeiting and piracy, governments may lose tax revenue, and may find it more difficult to attract investment. Those engaged in such illegal activity generally pay no taxes or duties, and often disregard basic standards for worker health and safety and product quality and performance. Industry reports trends in counterfeiting and piracy that include:
- Sustained growth in the piracy of copyrighted products in virtually all formats, as well as counterfeiting of trademarked goods. A reason for the rise in these criminal enterprises is that they offer enormous profits and little risk. Such enterprises require little up-front
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