CHIP AUSAs should investigate, charge, and seek convictions for intellectual property offenses, including, but not limited to:

1. • Criminal Trademark Infringement: CHIP AUSAs should investigate and prosecute criminal trademark-related infringement, including, but not limited to, charges under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2318 (trafficking in counterfeit labels) and 2320 (trademark infringement), and 21 U.S.C. §§ 331(i) (counterfeit trademarks on drugs), 333(a)(1) (misdemeanor penalty), and 333(b)(8) (felony penalty for violations of Section 331(i)(3)) (charges under 21 U.S.C. §§ 301, et seq., require consultation with the Consumer Protection Branch, JM 4-8.200).
2. • Criminal Copyright Offenses: CHIP AUSAs should investigate and prosecute criminal copyright-related offenses, including, but not limited to, charges under 17 U.S.C. §§ 1201-1204 (circumvention of copyright control systems in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), 18 U.S.C. §§ 2319 (copyright infringement), and 2319A (live music infringement), 2319B (unauthorized recording of a motion picture), and 2319C (unlawful streaming).
3. • Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets: CHIP AUSAs should investigate and prosecute criminal economic espionage and theft of trade secrets, including, but not limited to, charges under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831 and 1832 (although charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1831 require the approval of the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, JM 9-59.100 and consultation with CCIPS is strongly encouraged for charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1832, JM 9-59.110).

These statutes generally best capture the offense conduct as intellectual property crimes and charging these intellectual-property specific offenses will have the additional benefit of allowing the Department to better track intellectual property prosecutions and report the Department’s achievements to Congress. U.S. Attorneys, however, have flexibility about what charges are appropriate for a particular case. When a non-intellectual property offense charge or disposition has been approved, it is particularly important that the CHIP AUSA appropriately enter the case into CaseView as an intellectual property case (JM 3-16.110), and the CHIP AUSA accurately reflects his or her time in USA-5 as intellectual property work (JM 3-16.120).

When determining which intellectual property violations to investigate and pursue, CHIP AUSAs should prioritize:

1. • Public Health and Safety: CHIP AUSAs should prioritize intellectual property crimes that endanger the health or safety of the public. Trafficking in counterfeit drugs (which are ingested and can include dangerous materials like lead or fentanyl), defective counterfeit electrical devices, or counterfeit automobile brake parts are examples of trademark offenses that pose a health or safety risk.
2. • National Security: CHIP AUSAs should prioritize intellectual property offenses that implicate national security-related interests including, for example, the sale of counterfeit products intended for use by the military or the acquisition by adversaries of technologies that can be used to enhance military capabilities or support human rights abuses.
3. • Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets: CHIP AUSAs should prioritize economic espionage and trade secrets offenses, particularly theft of technology from the United States to those in another country and/or theft that relates to emerging or advanced technology, critical infrastructure, products or technology significant to the United States as a whole or a particular district, sought after by adversaries for disruptive purposes, or dangerous to the integrity of financial markets.
4. • Large-Scale Trademark and Copyright Offenses: CHIP AUSAs should prioritize large-scale criminal trademark offenses and copyright infringement crimes, such as the illegally copying and distribution of software or the online streaming of pirated movies, where the potential economic harm from that conduct is significant (including where the harm is significant nationally or in a particular district).

[updated August 2023]