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US DoJ Appoints IP Enforcement Coordinator For Asia

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

09 January 2006

US Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last Thursday announced the appointment of an Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator (IPLEC) to serve in Bangkok, Thailand and coordinate enforcement efforts in key areas of Asia.

Attorney General Gonzales revealed that the Department of Justice has appointed federal prosecutor Christopher P. Sonderby to serve as the coordinator for the Asian region. Sonderby is an experienced Assistant United States Attorney who specialized in intellectual property prosecutions at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in San Jose and Sacramento.

For the past two years, he has served as the head of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit in the Northern District of California, where he led a team of specially-trained prosecutors who focused on intellectual property and high-tech offenses.

Sonderby will begin serving as the Department of Justice’s Legal Attache to Thailand and the IPLEC for the Asian region later this month. Based on recommendations made by the DoJ's Task Force on Intellectual Property, he will focus on:

  • Coordinating investigations and prosecutions of intellectual property offenders located in the region;
  • Developing relationships with foreign law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in the area;
  • Providing legal and technical assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies on intellectual property enforcement;
  • Assisting federal prosecutors in the United States working on intellectual property cases involving Asia; and
  • Examining intellectual property crime trends in the region.

“Protecting intellectual property rights in the United States and throughout the world is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice,” explained Attorney General Gonzales. “My appointment of an Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator for Asia is an important step in coordinating enforcement efforts in a critical region of the world."

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