News

The IPR Center Report

Partners in Action

Volume 1: No. 1 • November 2008

New Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center Opens in Virginia

The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), the federal government’s top tool in the fight against intellectual property crime, relocated to a new home in July-a move that officials said will vastly improve coordination of investigations and enforcement efforts.

The IPR Center is a multi-agency partnership that includes representatives from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and other federal agencies. The partnership is an avenue for joining forces more effectively to combat counterfeiting, trademark piracy, and other intellectual property crimes.

At a July 10, 2008, open house to launch the new facility in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va., Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Guiterrez, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for ICE Julie L. Myers, business leaders, members of Congress, and law enforcement officials were on hand to highlight the global fight against intellectual property rights violations, which have grown in recent years into a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise. Officials stressed that the substandard quality of many counterfeit goods, notably pharmaceuticals and other consumer products, poses a significant threat to public health and safety.

The IPR Center employs a three-pronged approach of investigation, interdiction, and outreach to industry and law enforcement partners in the fight against intellectual property crime. “The outreach function has been a key priority in the weeks since the opening of the new center,” ICE’s David Thompson, IPR Center Director said, “in order to build awareness and strengthen relationships with industry partners.”