U.S. IP enforcement coordinator Espinel publishes plan against IP theft

The U.S. has a special "Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator", Victoria Espinel. Her office shall coordinate the activities of various other government departments that are "working hard to stop intellectual property theft".

Yesterday, Espinel published the first ‘Joint Strategic Plan to combat intellectual property theft’. According to the plan, it's time to protect the creative economy of America and the intellectual property of American citizens. Espinel points out that strong enforcement of intellectual property is necessary to achieve that goal. At the same time, the Obama administration has always embraced the freedom of information, online collaboration and fair use by ordinary citizens. Therefore the new strategy will not target any legitimate and legal activities.

The strategy includes more than thirty specific recommendations for improvement, which are divided into six main classes:

1. Lead by example: the U.S. government must first set a good example by ensuring that no illegal software or products are used by government officials.
2. Transparency in the development of enforcement, information exchange and reporting of law enforcement activities at home and abroad.
3. Improving coordination, efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement efforts at federal, state and local level, of the personnel stationed overseas and international training efforts.
4. Better cooperation with trading partners and international organizations to protect the U.S. intellectual property rights in the global economy.
5. The main point: secure the U.S. supply chain. A coordinated plan will address the problems posed by foreign-based websites and other entities that provide access to counterfeit or pirated products. The industry will be encouraged to work collaboratively to address unlawful activity on the internet, such as illegal downloading.
6. Spend tax money wisely. The amount of money spent on the enforcement of intellectual property will be tracked each year. This information will be used to provide the most effective way to fight intellectual property theft.

Read the whole ‘Joint Strategic Plan to combat intellectual property theft’, or look at the presentation of the report, chaired by Vice-President Joe Biden.