• Combat Counterfeiting
• Coordinate investigations
• Industry Partnerships
• Investigative Best Practices

National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center

Protection is Our Trademark

E-mail: IPRCenter@dhs.gov
Phone: 866-IPR-2060

The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) is the U.S. government’s clearing house for investigations into counterfeiting and piracy—crimes that threaten public health, public safety and fair competition.

As modern technology has reduced the cost of producing and distributing counterfeit and pirated goods, the criminals have expanded from traditional luxury hard goods into software, pharmaceuticals, electronics, household appliances and other products.

The IPR Center was created to promote the sharing of information, resources and personnel between the U.S. government agencies responsible for combating counterfeiting, piracy and related IPR crime.

Located in a state-of-the-art facility in Arlington, Va., the IPR Center represents a significant enhancement of the government’s investigative capability to combat IPR crime.

IPR Center Participants

Led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the IPR Center is a task force comprised of the major U.S. agencies responsible for enforcing laws related to IPR crimes and customs trade fraud, including the following:

• Defense Criminal Investigative Service;
• Federal Bureau of Investigation;
• Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations;
• Government of Mexico;
• Naval Criminal Investigative Service;
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP);
• U.S. General Services Administration Office of the Inspector General;
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

In addition, the IPR Center works closely with the Department of Justice Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Multi-Layered Approach

The IPR Center partners employ a three-pronged strategic approach to combating counterfeiters and pirates:

• Investigation – Identifying, disrupting, prosecuting and dismantling criminal organizations involved in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit products.
• Interdiction – Using focused targeting and inspections to keep counterfeit and pirated goods out of U.S. supply chains, markets and streets. 
• Training and Outreach – Providing training for domestic and international law enforcement to build stronger enforcement capabilities worldwide. The IPR Center is a one-stop shop for industry to receive information on IPR enforcement and to share potential investigative leads.

The global nature of trade and increasing use of the Internet have made combating IPR crime a more complex challenge. Meanwhile, the growth of international trade brings increased risk of threats to border security, national security and U.S. economic stability. The IPR Center is prepared to take on these challenges.

Greater Than the Sum of its Parts

The IPR Center also manages and supports the ICE commercial fraud program, which targets criminals engaged in illegal and predatory trade practices that endanger public health, our economy, and restrict the competitiveness of U.S. products in the global market. Successful cases produce significant seizures, civil penalties, and criminal prosecutions.

Read about ICE and CBP's IPR seizures in Fiscal Year 2009.

View the latest IPR Center report.

For older issues of the IPR Center Report, go to the Archives.