An official at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has told the Senate Judiciary Committee that counterfeits threaten health and safety and the growth of the internet has contributed to the threat.
Bruce Foucart, director of the ICE-led National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Coordination Center, testified before the committee during a hearing to discuss counterfeits and their effect on consumer safety.
The committee “acknowledged” that counterfeiting is a worldwide problem that affects US business, funds criminal organisations, and presents health and safety hazards. It added that the growth of the internet has created “new opportunities to deceive consumers”.
Foucart said: “The IPR Center’s mission is to address the theft of innovation that threatens US economic stability and national security, undermines the competitiveness of US industry in world markets, and places the public’s health and safety at risk.”
Foucart sat on a panel of experts that also included officials from the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Global Intellectual Property Center.
The hearing took place on April 28.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, US Patent and Trademark Office, counterfeit, health,
