WASHINGTON — A fake Coach handbag, $10 Rolex watch or a copy of a movie still in the theater sold on the street in almost any major U.S. city are all forms of counterfeiting that hurt the U.S. economy and need to stop.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, made clear at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting Thursday that counterfeiting and piracy businesses have expanded to many areas beyond cheap purses or watches and put American jobs at risk.
"When people hear the words intellectual property, many assume that we are referring merely to American music and movies that get pirated abroad," Hatch said. "But it is much, much more than that. It is counterfeit pharmaceuticals, fake consumer electronics and illegal knock-offs of famous-brand clothing that find their way into the stream of commerce."
Chamber President Tom Donohue said it should no longer be acceptable to consider a fake purse or watch just another form of counterfeiting because they are usually part of a bigger operation that could counterfeit drugs or airplane parts, or money can go to terrorist groups.
He said it is interesting to walk around a home or office and see all of the things that can be counterfeited, from computer software to the computer itself.
Gutierrez said counterfeiting and piracy is one of the largest threats to American competitiveness.
"It should be no different in our minds than counterfeiting money," Gutierrez said.
A panel of officials from the Commerce Department, Justice Department and U.S. Trade Representative Office explained how a layered approach and communication through the agencies are crucial to combating counterfeiting.
Laura Parsky, deputy assistant attorney general of the criminal division at the Justice Department, said the government needs to create a response that is as networked as the criminals they are pursuing.
But the officials also said that businesses need to protect themselves and that any business plan needs to include intellectual property components in it to help combat piracy early-on.
Business are going out on their own to raise awareness on piracy, reminding people that it is illegal to sell pirated or counterfeit products.
The Motion Picture Association of America filed 14 lawsuits — including one against an individual in West Jordan — against online auctioneers that had been selling on eBay counterfeit copies of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "State of the Union," "Ice Age" and other DVDs.
The MPAA estimates its member companies lost $3.5 billion in 2005 due to piracy, and efforts with law enforcement agencies around the world led to the seizure of more than 76 million illegal discs in 2005.
"Our goal is to raise awareness and protect unsuspecting consumers from dishonest transactions in the online marketplace," said John Malcolm, executive vice president and director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the MPAA. "Profiting from the sale of someone else's creative property is illegal, and we want to get this message out to both buyers and sellers."
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