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HOW ARE IP PROTECTION LAWS ENFORCED?Most intellectual property law in the United States is Federal law, giving the Federal courts exclusive jurisdiction to handle patent and copyright cases, and those claims brought under the Lanham Act (trademark and unfair competition). Under U.S. Federal law, patent, copyright, and Federally registered trademark rights holders have civil remedies available to them for infringement of their rights. This normally involves the filing of a civil action by the right holder in a Federal district court and the subsequent adjudication of the case in Federal court. Although the majority of IP enforcement in the United States is carried out through private civil actions, there are also IP offenses and penalties in State and Federal criminal codes. Criminal prosecutions often result from referrals by the right holder to the investigative agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or to Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices or the Department of Justice. The assistance of the right holder in cases of commercial-scale copyright piracy, trademark counterfeiting or the theft of trade secrets is often invaluable to a successful prosecution. Criminal IP investigations are also initiated based upon evidence developed directly by prosecutors and investigators, particularly in cases involving large-scale online copyright violations. There is no Federal agency that is directly responsible for administrative enforcement of intellectual property rights, except for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is authorized to enforce intellectual property laws at the nation’s borders. Intellectual property owners may seek to have infringing imports stopped at the border, by recording a copyright or trademark registration with Customs, obtaining a court order to detain and seize shipments, or by obtaining an exclusion order from the International Trade Commission which is in turn enforceable by Customs. State law remedies may also be available for certain acts of unfair competition or unfair trade practices under state laws, or claims based on common law trademark protection. Like the U.S., each country has its own system for enforcing IP rights. You may wish to consider retaining specialized legal counsel in the U.S. and abroad to help your small business negotiate the local laws and procedures of enforcement. |
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