see also: in October 2004:   Container Security Initiative Port of Gioia Tauro, Italy Becomes 31st Operational Port   CBP Border Patrol Agents Intercept Large Cache of Drugs   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Dedicates New Border Patrol Academy in New Mexico   Annual Trade Symposium Rescheduled for January 2005   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Establishes Attaché Program   Four New Ports in UK to Implement the Container Security Initiative   Samenfink Heads Customs and Border Protection's Modernization Office ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers   Federal Register Notices 2007 - GPO Access on the web:   Recordation of Copyrights and Enforcement Procedures To Prevent the Importation of Piratical Articles

contacts for this news release

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today published in the Federal Register proposed regulations that will allow CBP to protect sound recordings and motion pictures from piracy while copyright registration is pending. The proposed regulations are part of the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP), the Administration's comprehensive initiative to combat trade in pirated and counterfeit goods that was announced on October 4, 2004.

"Advances in technology have made the pirating of intellectual property rights (IPR) easy, costing our economy millions of dollars in lost revenue," said Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. "During the first half of fiscal year 2004, IPR seizures at our nations borders totaled $64 million. The proposed regulations will allow Customs and Border Protection to be more responsive to claims of piracy."

Currently, CBP regulations require that all claims to copyright, both foreign and domestic, be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to be eligible for border protection. However, significant imports of piratical copies of sound recordings, motion pictures, or similar audio-visual works can occur before the copyright owner is able to secure registration. For these types of works, piracy is likely to occur prior to and immediately following the release of the work.

The proposed regulations will allow owners of sound recordings, motion pictures, or similar audio-visual works to record their intellectual property with CBP while their copyright registration is pending. This early recording will provide CBP with the information it needs to prevent importation of pirated copies into the United States.

For more information on the proposed regulations, please visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Web site ( Federal Register Notices 2007 - GPO Access )

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.