Department of Justice

The Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutes IP cases referred from ICE, FBI, and FDA, as well as from private sector representatives and other sources. IP enforcement is one of the department’s highest priorities. In March 2004, the Attorney General announced the creation of a DOJ Task Force on Intellectual Property, with a mission of identifying ways to strengthen the department’s IP enforcement efforts.

The Task Force produced 31 recommendations for improving IP enforcement and provided a progress report on those recommendations in its 2006 report. The Task Force made numerous short- and long-term recommendations, including increasing the number of DOJ prosecutors and FBI agents that focus on computer crime and IP cases and prosecuting IP cases involving a threat to public health and safety. In addition, DOJ developed an internal IP enforcement strategy for 2007 with six strategic objectives designed to help it meets its larger goal of reducing IP theft.

DOJ’s IP enforcement is carried out primarily by the 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices located throughout the country as well as its Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Under DOJ’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program, each U.S. Attorney’s Office has one CHIP coordinator who is trained in prosecuting IP enforcement cases. In addition, 25 U.S Attorney’s Offices have CHIP units, usually comprised of 2 or more attorneys (a few units have as many as 8 attorneys), who focus solely on prosecuting computer hacking or IP crimes. IP crimes prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office are not limited to CHIP units, but may be prosecuted as part of a larger case, such as one involving organized crime. CCIPS, located in DOJ headquarters, is responsible for supporting IP prosecutions by U.S. Attorney’s Offices, as well as prosecuting their own cases. CCIPS is also responsible for developing DOJ’s overall IP enforcement strategy and coordinating among U.S. and foreign law enforcement officials on domestic and international cases of IP theft.