Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator—Asia

Yesterday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appointed San Jose, California federal prosecutor Christopher P. Sonderby to serve as the Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator [hereinafter IPLEC] for Asia.^[1] Mr. Sonderby is an Assistant US Attorney “who specialized in intellectual property prosecution at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in San Jose and Sacramento.”^[2] He will be stationed in Bangkok, Thailand, and will serve not only as the IPLEC, but also as the DOJ’s Legal Attaché (a/k/a “Legat”) to Thailand.^[3] Fittingly, the US Embassy in Bangkok is located at 95 Wireless Road.

The DOJ’s Task Force on Intellectual Property recommended the creation of the IPLEC in Asia, and the position’s duties include:

• 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.^[4]

The DOJ’s Intellectual Property [hereinafter IP] Task Force’s Report, released in October 2004, recommended that the DOJ “should deploy federal prosecutors to the United States embassies in Hong Kong and Budapest, Hungary … to coordinate [IP] enforcement efforts in those regions.”^[5] Obviously, the IP Task Force’s recommendation wasn’t entirely adhered to, because Mr. Sonderby is being sent to Thailand instead. Furthermore, the Task Force recommended that Legats be assigned to assist the IPLEC,^[6] but it seems that Mr. Sonderby will be playing two roles in his new position.

It does not seem as though the IPLEC for Europe has been named yet.

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[1] US DOJ, Press Release: Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Announces Appointment of Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator for Asia, Jan. 5, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] US DOJ, IP Task Force Report 32, Oct. 2004. (PDF)
[6] Id. at 33.