Table 3 Specific definitions of counterfeiting and piracy groups (IPR Center[2011c])

Individual/Small Groups:

“Although there are IPR cases involving solo or small groups of individuals who operate out of their homes, garages, or small storage facilities, there is little reporting and no actual analysis of the relative importance of such operators to the threat. … This lack of reporting and analysis may be a reflection of the fact that individuals and small operations are a less attractive target for law enforcement than larger enterprises engaging in more significant infringing activity or also committing other more serious offenses.”

General Criminal Enterprises (Members):

An example used to identify this group is “an Asian criminal enterprise of 30 defendants charged with smuggling into the United States counterfeit cigarettes worth approximately $40 million and other counterfeit goods, including pharmaceuticals worth several hundred thousand dollars.”

Organized Crime Members (Members):

“Organized crime groups are a specialized subset of criminal enterprises that maintain their position through the use of actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion. For example, members of the Lim Organization, an Asian organized crime group in New York, trafficked in counterfeit goods and were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.” A challenge of deterring this group is their use of violence and the risk of retaliation to a company or investigators (e.g., violence or sabotage).

Terrorist Organizations (Supporters):

“Terrorist supporters have used intellectual property crime as one method to raise funds. Central to this judgment is the distinction between terrorist supporters who merely provide funding and resources to a terrorist organization versus terrorist organization members who engage in the actual terrorist activities of violence. … It is widely reported terrorist supporters may use IPR crimes to provide indirect financial support to terrorist organizations, but little current evidence suggests terrorists are engaging directly in IPR crimes to fund their activities.” There are many confirmed cases of product counterfeiting for funding terrorist acts.

Gangs (Supporters):

“According to the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC), there are three subtypes of gangs: street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. Of these three groups, street gangs most often engage in and profit from IP theft, therefore this analysis focuses exclusively on this subtype.”

Foreign Government Offenders:

The primary motivation in this offender group is the theft of sensitive United States information including trade secrets and economic espionage. There are examples of state-sponsored counterfeits of branded products.

Warez Groups:

“[A] less common motivation for committing IPR [infringement] is personal fame and notoriety. These individuals are often members of Warez groups, sophisticated and hierarchical criminal groups operating in the United States and abroad that specialize in distributing infringing movies, music, and software via the Internet.”