As Cyber Monday kicked off the online holiday shopping season seizure orders were executed against commercial websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works.
The program known as Operation In Our Sites, is a sustained law enforcement initiative to protect consumers by targeting counterfeit products and piracy on the Internet.
Since the program began in June 2010 there have been 350 domain names seized. In November 2010 Cyber Monday operation, 82 websites were seized. This year the Cyber Monday crackdown resulted in 150 domains being seized that are now in the custody of the federal government.
While current debates over proposed bills such as SOPA and Protect IP deal with copyright violations of online content such as music and movies, the Cyber Monday crackdown under the Operation In Our Sites program targeted commercial websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods.
“The theft of intellectual property, to include the trafficking of counterfeit goods, creates significant financial losses,” said FBI Section Chief Zack Miller of the Cyber Division. “The FBI aggressively pursues intellectual property enforcement through traditional investigative methods, intelligence initiatives and coordinated efforts with private industry and domestic and foreign law enforcement partners.”
The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Coordination Center uses the joint efforts of its 19 member agencies to share information and coordinate enforcement actions related to intellectual property theft. To learn more about the IPR visit www.IPRCenter.gov.
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