Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy Urge DHS to Continue IP Enforcement Programs

Keeping our citizens and nation safe is one of the core functions of the federal government, and we welcome the appointment of Secretary Jeh Johnson to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Sec. Johnson faces a challenging array of issues that demand his full attention, and we look forward to working with the Secretary and his department in support of their efforts.  One area in which the Department has excelled in recent years is the ongoing enforcement program administered by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the National IPR Center: Operation in Our Sites (OiOS).  This effort strives to protect consumers and industries from the very real threats posed by online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods.  Websites that traffic illicit and counterfeit drugs, consumer goods, electronics and footwear, and facilitate the online pirating of a wide array of copyrighted materials threaten the 40 million IP-intensive jobs our economy has come to rely on. Furthermore, the illicit sites take advantage of consumers, exposing them to identity theft or financial fraud in addition to pushing sometimes deceptively dangerous goods, such as fake medicines and consumer products.