State AGs Press Congress For IP Funds
Attorneys general from 39 states wrote a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee members this week urging them to fully implement and fund legislation passed by Congress and signed into law last October, which would enhance domestic intellectual property protections. The statute seeks to bolster the ability of state and local law enforcement to protect IP by authorizing funding for related programs. The state AGs pressed lawmakers to provide $25 million in fiscal year 2010 for IP enforcement grants administered by the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs." The funds would be used to "pay for law enforcement training programs, public education programs, the establishment of federal-state-local task forces, and certain special expenses incurred through efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy," they wrote.
Signatories included attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global IP Center lauded the letter. "State and local law enforcement play a pivotal role in protecting jobs and consumers from intellectual property crimes," Center Executive Vice President Mark Esper said. "We look forward to working with Congress to make sure these needed funds are invested."
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