October 14, 2011

Posted by Dan Houton

On Tuesday, October 11, participants of MEMA’s Brand Protection Committee (BPC) met at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in Arlington, Virginia to learn about and discuss the Federal government’s efforts to collaborate with industry in protecting America’s intellectual property rights (IPR).    The National IPR Center is a unique federal facility that stands at the forefront of the U.S. government’s response to global intellectual property (IP) theft, coordinating the efforts of 19 agencies and offices. 

The meeting included presentations from agencies such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) and the Department of Commerce.  The speakers educated MEMA members on how to work with enforcement agencies on counterfeit and piracy cases.  In addition, participants were updated on IPR legislation moving through Congress and other federal efforts promoting IPR protection. 

IPR violations cost the U.S. motor vehicle parts industry billions of dollars each year and the BPC works to make sure the industry’s concerns are being addressed in efforts to combat IPR infringement worldwide.