On Wednesday, Stephen Pinkos, the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, and Chris Israel, the U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement, testified before Congress regarding the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) Initiative. According to Chris Israel, “[f]ew issues are as important to the current and future economic strength of the United States as our ability to create and protect intellectual property,” and “[c]ombating piracy and counterfeiting is a top priority for the Bush Administration.” Stephen Pinkos provided additional comments regarding the effectiveness of the various conferences held by the USPTO, as well as the STOP! Hotline that receives and acts on telephone calls from the public. According to the USPTO, “The STOP! Initiative has five primary goals: to empower American innovators to better protect their rights at home and abroad; to increase efforts to seize counterfeit goods at our borders; to pursue criminal enterprises involved in piracy and counterfeiting; to work closely and creatively with U.S. Industry; and to aggressively engage our trading partners to join our efforts.” These comments and others were made before Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Federal Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

USPTO News Release: LINK
STOP! Initiative Website: LINK
USPTO STOP! Hotline Webpage: LINK
Senate Testimony Transcript: LINK
USPTO Biography of Stephen Pinkos: LINK