President Barack Obama plans to lead his administration against counterfeit and pirated goods by launching 'Operation Global Hoax,' a 35-nation effort to combat illegal activities.
The Justice and Commerce departments will be involved in Operation Global Hoax, which will aim to battle everything from pirated material to counterfeit drugs and car tires.
The Obama administration wants to find new ways to protect against piracy and counterfeit goods, with intellectual property issues expected to receive more support from the FBI. Obama hand picked several former music studio group executives and lawyers for his staff, so it's no surprise that his administration now wants to pursue anti-piracy measures.
"This is theft, clear and simple," noted U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. "It's smash and grab, no different than a guy walking down Fifth Avenue and smashing the window at Tiffany's and reaching in and grabbing what's in the window."
Comparing P2P piracy to a smash and grab never seemed appropriate to me, but it works for anti-piracy supporters. If the federal government is to become more active in anti-piracy work, I hope it remains at a business level -- not individual cases of P2P piracy among regular citizens.
The Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator noted that her office will take a look into what the country has done to prevent piracy and other intellectual property infringement.
Both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have shown support for the new government-led initiative to crackdown on piracy. They also showed support when the DoJ announced it supported higher copyright infringement fines for P2P pirates who download music and movies.
Even though the federal government has sided with copyright groups in the past, there is a noticeable shift taking place in Washington. A political consensus that was considered disorganized and unprofessional is now sorting itself out and gaining traction among lawmakers.
