Online advertising systems and platforms enable website owners to outsource the process of monetizing their website traffic.Payment service providers-such as credit card payment processors and related payment alternatives-also give counterfeiters the appearance of legitimacy when they provide payment options that consumers mistakenly interpret to mean that the businesses they service are legitimate.Third-party online marketplaces draw consumers to their sites with competitive pricing and a sense of security, but criminal counterfeiters exploit these marketplaces to gain an appearance of legitimacy, access to far-reaching advertising, and efficient sales transactions.Under the FBI’s new strategy, we’re expanding our efforts to work with third-party entities-such as online marketplaces, payment service providers, and advertisers-that may inadvertently enable the activities of criminals. FBI efforts with these businesses to date have involved shared information, aggressive criminal initiatives based on current or emerging trends, and investigations. and global economies are robbed of jobs and tax revenue, product safety is reduced, and sometimes lives are even put at risk. The Bureau has already been collaborating for years with brand owners, copyright holders, and trademark holders because we know the harm that intellectual property theft causes: legitimate businesses lose billions of dollars in revenue and suffer damaged reputations, consumer prices go up, the U.S. The FBI-working with its investigative partners at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC)-will play an integral part in this strategy. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a new strategy that involves partnering more closely with businesses in an effort to combat these types of crimes more effectively. Key to the program’s success is linking the considerable resources and efforts of the private sector with law enforcement partners on local, state, federal, and international levels.
It specifically focuses on the theft of trade secrets and infringements on products that can impact consumers’ health and safety, such as counterfeit aircraft, car, and electronic parts. Preventing intellectual property theft is a priority of the FBI’s criminal investigative program. businesses billions of dollars a year and robs the nation of jobs and tax revenues. All told, intellectual property theft costs U.S. And much of the theft takes place overseas, where laws are often lax and enforcement is more difficult. It is a growing threat-especially with the rise of digital technologies and Internet file sharing networks. Intellectual property theft involves robbing people or companies of their ideas, inventions, and creative expressions-known as “intellectual property”-which can include everything from trade secrets and proprietary products and parts to movies, music, and software.