Some 292 domain names illegally selling counterfeit merchandise online to consumers have been seized in an operation by Euro-police body Europol and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with 25 law enforcement agencies from 19 countries. The 292 names seized are part of project ‘In Our Sites (IOS) Transatlantic V’. The operation was coordinated by Europol for its partners (Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain and the UK) and the HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) in Washington DC, for the United States.
Since August, Europol and the IPR Center (NIPRCC) have received leads from trademark holders regarding the infringing websites, which were then circulated to law enforcement authorities in the participating countries. The domain names seized are now in the custody of the governments involved in these operations. Visitors typing those domain names into their web browsers will find a banner that notifies them of the seizure and educates them about the crime of wilful copyright infringement; or the visitors will not be able to access the website any more. The most popular counterfeit products concerned include traditional luxury goods but also sportswear, electronics, pharmaceuticals and pirated goods like movies and music.
“The infringements of intellectual property rights is a growing problem in our economies and for millions of producers and consumers. Europol is committed to working with its international partners to crack down on the criminal networks responsible for this illegal activity,” says Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol.
While seizing the websites is only one way of disrupting and hindering the criminals behind the sale of counterfeits on the Internet, law enforcers say that they also now focus increasingly on the ‘follow-the-money’ approach, in line with the EU Action Plan on the enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Project IOS began to protect consumers by targeting the sale of counterfeit merchandise on the internet. The 292 domain names seized under Operation IOS V brings the total number of IOS domain names seized to 1829 since the IOS project began in November 2012.
NIPRCC Acting Director Bruce Foucart said: “Working with our international partners on operations like this shows the true global impact of IP crime. Counterfeiters take advantage of the holiday season and sell cheap fakes to unsuspecting consumers everywhere. Consumers need to protect themselves, their families, and their personal financial information from the criminal networks operating these bogus sites.”
Counterfeit products being sold online not only rip off the consumer and provide shoddy products, but also put their personal financial information at risk, the authorities point out.
