ENFORCEMENT

Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement
SECTION 4
expand competencies to achieve congruence with a
changing environment in order to realize maximum
efficiency. The demands on the state require a dynamic
administrative framework.
As an example of how a government can provide a
more effective, agile response to combat IP-based illicit
activity, the United States Government has adopted two
distinct but complementary organizational approaches
to IP enforcement: a “Whole of Government” and a
“Specialized Office” approach. Each will be discussed in
turn in the sections that follow.
1. The U.S. Model: A “Whole of Government”
Approach to Intellectual Property Enforcement.
Entities that target and misappropriate trade secrets;
systematically unlawfully exploit copyrighted content
for commercial profit; or engage in the global trade of
counterfeit, pirated or patent-infringing products have
one thing in common: they take advantage of the lack of
a coordinated government response. As a result, a “Whole
of Government” approach—and its attendant enhanced
inter-agency and inter-institutional coordination—to
combat the unlawful exploitation or misappropriation of IP
is key to achieving an effective enforcement environment.
A “Whole of Government” approach to IP
enforcement seeks to break down silos that can exist
amongst government agencies, maximizing appropriate
collaboration. The approach leverages the resources,
skills, and authorities of each individual governmental
entity, and better ensures a comprehensive response to
IP theft, as compared to an agency-by-agency approach
that can often be fragmented. It also entails appropriate
collaboration between government and private industry,
trade associations, civil society—including consumer
groups and labor unions—and other governments the
world over.
The U.S. Government has adopted a “Whole of
Government” approach for both an IP enforcement
policy coordination standpoint and from an operational
enforcement perspective. This Strategic Plan addresses
each in turn, with the objective of illuminating these
models domestically, as well as internationally, for
purposes of continued support and development, in
order to enhance collaboration in the global marketplace.
Whole-of-Government Approach to IP Enforcement
Policy Coordination.
With regard to IP enforcement policy coordination,
the “Whole of Government” approach is embodied,
for example, in the Office of the Intellectual Property
Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC).
The IPEC was created by Congress in the PRO-IP
Act of 2008. It is headed by the Intellectual Property
Enforcement Coordinator, who is appointed by the
President of the United States, and subject to confirmation
by and with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
The IPEC was placed in the Executive Office of the
President (EOP) to elevate the issue of IP enforcement,
with particular emphasis on counterfeit and infringing
goods, to the highest levels of the U.S. Government.
Its placement in the EOP was also to coordinate the
understanding of and approach to IP enforcement of each
Government office and agency, where each agency has its
own subject matter expertise and areas of responsibility—
whether it be diplomacy, trade, criminal or civil law
enforcement, etc. The IPEC coordinates the agencies
identified in the PRO-IP Act to enable the agencies to
work together to advance strategic, multi-disciplinary
coherence at a national level.
The IPEC’s responsibilities and authority are
derived from two sources of law: (1) the PRO-IP Act of
2008, a Federal statute passed by Congress; and (2)
Executive Order 13565 issued by President Obama
in 2011. These authorities mandate the IPEC to chair
the U.S. Interagency Strategic Planning Committees
on IP enforcement and coordinate the interagency
development of this Joint Strategic Plan.
Congress and the President found the establishment
of the committees and the development of the Joint
Strategic Plan necessary to coordinate the Government’s
work to reduce the proliferation of counterfeit goods
and commercial-scale piracy and to enable the relevant
agencies to work together more efficiently to identify
impediments to effective IP enforcement both in the
United States and internationally. In connection with the
development of the Joint Strategic Plan, from its post in
the EOP, the IPEC engages across the U.S. Government,
with the private sector, other stakeholders, and with
foreign governments, where appropriate, to coordinate
this National strategy to protect U.S. IP from unlawful
exploitation and theft.
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