Washington, DC, October 4--U.S. officials are expected to announce today a coordinated crackdown on the theft of U.S. intellectual property, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
According to officials cited by the Journal, the targeted items amount to 7 percent of global trade. The new initiative will be called Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy, or Stop, for short. It will be comprised of a number of legal and administrative changes to be made in coming months.
The newspaper said that rampant piracy of copyrighted or patented U.S. goods -- particularly in China -- is depriving American companies of billions of dollars in revenue.
"This will be the most comprehensive effort ever launched to stop the trade in pirated goods," one senior administration official told the Journal, who provided details on the initiative. The official added that while "China is not the only problem, it is ground zero."
Attorney General John Ashcroft, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick plan to lay out details of the initiative, along with senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Journal said.
The newspaper said that the effort will entail publication of an annual "name and shame" list of foreign companies known to be producing or trafficking in fakes.
The Justice Department will conduct a large-scale effort to break up criminal organizations that U.S. officials say are involved in widespread sales of pirated products. And the administration plans to push for an overhaul of U.S. intellectual-property laws, with an emphasis on toughening criminal penalties for people convicted of piracy.
The U.S. Trade Representative and the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol will also play key roles, according to the Journal.
