Justice Department Hosts International Intellectual Property Program on Advanced Computer and Digital Forensics

Police and prosecutors from the Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are participating in the training, which will enhance cross-border cooperation in the fight against intellectual property theft by increasing the ability of the trainees to use advanced computer forensics techniques to track down, arrest and prosecute IP criminals. Training is taking place over three days at the GIPA facility, and will be lead by Ovie Carroll, Director of the Cybercrime Lab at the Justice Department’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section. This specific, targeted forensics training is a groundbreaking effort for the IPCEN, which was established in 2007. The IPCEN serves two primary functions: to facilitate the exchange of successful investigation and prosecution strategies in combating domestic piracy and counterfeiting crimes; and to strengthen communication channels to promote coordinated, multinational prosecutions of the most serious offenders. By preparing a group of investigators to conduct sophisticated analysis of computer data, the mission of the IPCEN will be advanced and the opportunity for larger domestic and multi-national cases will increase. The Justice Department organized the gathering with the assistance of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) in Alexandria, Va., using a grant from the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement. The IPCEN conference reflects the continuing outreach efforts of the Justice Department’s Attaché and IP Law Enforcement Coordinator for Asia, Christopher P. Sonderby, and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT). More information about the department’s efforts to combat Intellectual Property Crime can be found at: www.cybercrime.gov