Work Needed to Improve CBP's IPR Enforcement, GAO Says; Hatch Plans to Hold Hearing

CBP and ICE should look into the possibility of sharing more information with the private sector in order to better enforce intellectual property rights, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Feb. 27. The agencies should "take action to enhance information sharing, where possible, such as by proposing regulatory revisions or requesting additional legal authorities from Congress," the GAO said. CBP also should use better measures to gauge the effectiveness of the agency's intellectual property enforcement efforts, the GAO said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who requested the GAO report, plans to "hold a hearing to take a deeper look at the dangers of counterfeits sold to unsuspecting consumers and further analyze GAO’s recommendations." The report "highlights an alarming ratio between authentic and counterfeit goods purchased online, and recommends changes to improve information sharing between CBP, ICE, rights holders, and eCommerce platforms," Hatch said in a news release.

CBP concurred with both recommendations. CBP's offices of Trade, Field Operations and Chief Counsel will consult with ICE and "assess where deficiencies in information sharing exist and what, if any, additional data can be provided to the private sector," it said. The agency will then determine if regulatory revisions or new legal authorities are needed "in order to make additional data available to right holders," it said.

The CBP Office of Trade is also "implementing a comprehensive internal system for reporting and tracking trade enforcement metrics (including internal law enforcement sensitive IPR enforcement metrics) which will improve CBP's ability to monitor and assess overall IPR effectiveness," CBP said. To help CBP adapt to the rapid shift to e-commerce, CBP is developing an e-commerce strategy, it said. The agency will also build "on knowledge gained from the voluntary abandonment pilot program" to continue to "develop operational efficiencies, particularly regarding the processing of shipments of IPR-infringing goods in small packages, and will provide guidance to the ports on using alternative methods to seizure."

The recommendations came in response to the GAO's review of e-commerce processing among government agencies. The GAO also purchased 47 items -- a combination of shoes, travel mugs, cosmetics and phone chargers -- from third-party sellers on five e-commerce websites and submitted the products to the rights holders for review. Twenty of the items were determined to be fake, the GAO said. "We did not identify any clear reasons for the variation among the counterfeit and authentic that we purchased based on the products they represented, the e-commerce websites from which they were purchased, or the third-party sellers from whom they were purchased," it said.