ICE Domain Seizures Curb Counterfeit Sales on Cyber Monday
Over the weekend the Department of Justice, the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized 150 website domain names that were allegedly selling and distributing counterfeit merchandise, the agencies said Monday. The crackdown comes as Congress weighs two bills aimed at strengthening enforcement tools against intellectual property theft abroad. Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder said he plans to launch a new public education campaign intended to increase Americans’ knowledge of the threat IP infringement poses at a White House press conference Tuesday at 1 p.m.
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The weekend seizures were conducted as part of “Operation In Our Sites,” an initiative that began in June of last year that has seized at least 350 domains to date. “Through this operation we are aggressively targeting those who are selling counterfeit goods for their own personal gain while costing our economy much-needed revenue and jobs,” Holder said. “Today we have sent a clear message that the Department will remain ever vigilant in protecting the public’s economic welfare and public safety through robust intellectual property enforcement."
The seizures predominantly targeted Chinese and foreign-based groups with websites registered in the U.S. selling counterfeit sports jerseys, footwear, handbags and sunglasses, the agencies said Monday. Over the past three months, undercover investigators sought and purchased infringing goods online and then acquired seizure warrants for the targeted domains. The 150 domains are now in the custody of the federal government and visitors to the sites will be redirected to a banner that says the domain has been seized for infringement.
Officials touted the seizures as a means to preserve American jobs and block financing to potential terrorist groups and criminal organizations. “More and more Americans are doing their holiday shopping online, and they may not realize that purchasing counterfeit goods results in American jobs lost, American business profits stolen and American consumers receiving substandard products,” said ICE Director John Morton. “And the ramifications can be even greater because the illicit profits made from these types of illegal ventures often fuel other kinds of organized crime.” Morton said investigators had not tallied the total amount of unlawful revenue that the seizures cut off but told reporters “this is in the very large figures well above the millions.”
Critics of the operation, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and NetCoalition, said the program lacks transparency and raises serious due process concerns. “The domains have no recourse, and this concerns us from a First Amendment stance,” said Parker Higgins, a staff activist at EFF. Morton told reporters Monday that owners and operators of the seized domains have 60 days to notify authorities that they wish to challenge the seizures, after which they default their right to do so.
Prior “Operation In Our Sites” targets, like the Spanish sporting site Rojadirecta, are still fighting their domain seizures in court. In February Justice and ICE seized both the domains, Rojadirecta.com and Rojadirecta.org, for engaging in flagrant copyright infringement, the agencies alleged (WID July 14 p8). Since then, the sites’ operator, Puerto 80, filed suit in U.S. District Court in New York to dismiss the seizure and claimed the sites were merely online discussion forums rather than portals that infringe or link to infringing materials.
The seizures also show the government “has plenty of tools to go after sites engaging in illegal activities,” and there’s no need for additional IP legislation, said NetCoalition Executive Director Markham Erickson. NetCoalition has loudly opposed the Senate PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), S-968, and the House Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), HR-3261, which they said would undermine the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, facilitate Internet censorship and create a “litigation and liability nightmare” for Internet and technology companies. “We shouldn’t be creating duplicative and inconsistent standards through the enactment of new legislation,” said Erickson. Higgins agreed: “SOPA and PIPA would put this sort of power in the hands of individuals and corporations who might be more loose to use it.”