Fighting Worldwide Counterfeiting Requires International Cooperation

As part of the U.S. Government’s efforts to create jobs for American workers and increase U.S. exports to overseas markets, I recently travelled to Europe to press for greater cooperation in fighting intellectual property theft overseas, which hurts innovators and brands here in America. Counterfeiting and piracy is a global crime, and it requires a global solution.

At the World Copyright Congress in Brussels, I spoke about the need to work with foreign governments and the private sector to stop criminals who attempt to evade intellectual property laws by operating overseas. In Brussels, I met with members of the European Commission and European Parliament, as well as American businesses. In London, I met with members of UK’s Parliament and the UK IP Crime Group, a group of enforcement agencies and industry groups which seek a collaborative approach to fighting intellectual property crime.

This collaborative approach, working with the private sector, is something that my office has been engaged in here in the U.S. Over the last several months, my office has been working closely with Internet Service Providers, advertisers, credit card companies, payment processors, search engines, domain name registrars and registries taking voluntary action against online piracy. These private-sector companies, as well as foreign governments, recognize that we all have a stake in maintaining a safe and secure global marketplace. I welcome their cooperation and will continue to engage with them as we fight worldwide counterfeiting together.