Pirates of the 21st Century: The Curse of the Black Market

The purpose of the hearing is to review the effectiveness of the federal government’s current efforts to enforce existing intellectual property rights and how current U.S. intellectual property enforcement policies relate to the loss of over two million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Specifically, the hearing will examine the activities of the Department of Commerce, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the Department of Homeland Security to protect U.S. intellectual property interests both at home and abroad. Areas for examination will include staffing and funding levels, as well as whether there is sufficient coordination among the agencies to maximize effectiveness in this area.