The transnational nature of intellectual property crime is the biggest challenge facing federal law enforcement authorities combating online piracy, a top Justice Department Criminal Division official said Wednesday.
Speaking at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on intellectual property law enforcement, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein of the Criminal Division said the complexity of international intellectual property cases involving the Internet means that such probes are costly. He said criminals often hide their identities online and operate out of countries that they believe are safe havens, increasing the difficulty of prosecution.
“The fact that the crime can be committed by somebody sitting in an apartment somewhere in a country in Eastern Europe just as easily as a person in this building makes it a legal challenge,” Weinstein said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee last month unanimously reported to the full Senate legislation sponsored by panel Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) which is designed to give the Justice Department more tools to fight online intellectual property crimes.
The bill would allow the DOJ to take legal action against the owner or registrant of a domain name that connects to a foreign website engaged in infringing activities. The legislation also permits the Department to take action against a foreign-registered domain name itself.
Leahy said intellectual property crime is “an epidemic” that has led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars.
“Whether intellectual property theft takes place on street corners or on the Internet, it poses a threat to American businesses, American public safety, and now we’re finding even the American military,” Leahy said.
