The U.S. Department of Justice is bolstering its computer crimes and intellectual property enforcement, adding 15 new prosecutors and 20 federal agents to focus on what officials say are a growing number of IP crimes domestically and abroad.
The new positions, announced today by Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler, will be part of the department's Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property program, which began in 2001 within the Criminal Division. The 15 new assistant U.S. attorneys will be spread across the country, including in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and California.
“Intellectual property law enforcement is central to protecting our nation’s ability to remain at the forefront of technological advancement, business development and job creation,” said Grindler, who chairs the department’s intellectual property task force, in a statement today. “The department, along with its federal partners throughout the Administration, will remain ever vigilant in this pursuit as American entrepreneurs and businesses continue to develop, innovate and create.”
DOJ officials said the additional 20 FBI agents will be based in four cities of particular concern for intellectual property crime—Washington, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. More than 30 agents are already dedicated to investigating IP crime. The department’s IP task force was established earlier this year as a way to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of intellectual property cases.
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