J. United States
J1. United States law provides that any person who infringes a copyright wilfully and for purposes for commercial advantage or private financial gain shall be punished. This applies to persons directly involved and those who wilfully aid and abet in such criminal activity. The law also provides for the forfeiture and destruction of infringing copies and/or equipment used to facilitate the infringement.
J2. Penalties range from imprisonment of up to 10 years and additional monetary fines. Different penalties apply, however, depending on the retail value of the product. In addition to the foregoing federal laws, there are also some state laws which provide additional offences, and which can co-exist provided there is no conflict with federal law.
J3. Trade mark protection against criminal action extends to prohibiting intentional trafficking of counterfeit goods. The penalty for trafficking in counterfeit goods or services can be up to 10 years imprisonment or from US$2 million to US$415 million in fines, depending on the circumstances.
J4. A very recent development has been the new Anticounterfeiting Consumer Protection Act of 1996. This enhances anticounterfeiting enforcement and penalties in a number of ways. Enforcement officers are now able to seize not only counterfeit goods but also the property and equipment associated with the counterfeiting operation. The Attorney-General is to make an annual report to Congress concerning efforts to investigate and prosecute criminal counterfeiting. Customs is authorised to impose a civil fine on individuals involved in the importation of counterfeit goods equal to the market value of the merchandise had it been genuine. The Customs service is to issue regulations requiring importers to disclose the identity of any trade mark on imported merchandise.
J5. A more recent United States development is the No Electronic Theft Act of 1997, which is to provide for criminal liability for intentionally distributing copied software over the Internet, even if there is not profit to these persons.
J6. There is a proposed Trademark Anticounterfeiting Act of 1998 currently before Congress. This is largely directed to offences relating to altering or removing product identification codes and affixing them to unauthorised goods. These are used to identify genuine goods and are tools against counterfeiting.
J7. There are Customs laws similar to those in New Zealand.
J8. Civil proceedings are also available under the Copyright and Trademark Statutes, with United States law generally based on the common law.
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