DOJ’s Criminal Division Chief Stumps for Wiretap Power in IP Investigations
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Department of Justice needs wiretapping authority concerning intellectual property infringements to keep up its vigorous enforcement, the head of the department’s criminal division said Thursday. Justice has broadened its use of tapping in general under the Obama administration, and the expansion into copyright and trademark cases is needed so the department can use the technique “as an effective tool in the future,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a keynote to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition conference.
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Overall, “this administration has made intellectual property enforcement a higher priority than any other administration in recent memory,” Breuer said. “We are absolutely committed to fighting back.” Copyright and other intellectual-property offenses aren’t included in the crimes that federal law allows wiretapping orders on, he told us after his speech. So Justice asked Congress in March to expand its authority, Breuer said. The change is needed because IP infringements are often the product of “sophisticated operations,” he said. The chances that the change will be enacted are “very strong,” Breuer said.
New technologies are “exploited by individuals and organized criminal enterprises to create high-quality knockoffs and perfect digital copies for global distribution,” Breuer said. He added, “Websites that offer pirated or even prerelease copies of movies, music, software or games often operate overseas. The reason is simple: Not every country takes IP enforcement as seriously as we do or has the expertise to prosecute IP cases effectively.” That’s why the department stresses international training and cooperation, he said.
Breuer asked those listening to “continue educating the public about the scourge of IP crime.” There’s “a misperception that IP crimes are victimless or that victims of IP crimes don’t really suffer,” because the violations seem “more abstract to most people than stealing a car,” he said. That view “has a counterproductive effect on our efforts,” and in reality infringement kills jobs and companies, Breuer said. He also asked companies to work to detect infringements of their rights as they happen and to report violations right away. “We cannot police the entire world economy,” and DOJ can’t respond as “efficiently and aggressively” if it learns of an infringement “long after the fact,” he said.