MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT ORDERS SEIZURES OF 24 WEBSITES FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY VIOLATIONS

United States Attorney Southern District of New York U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE NOVEMBER 29, 2010 ELLEN DAVIS PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JAMES T. HAYES, JR., the Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations in New York ("ICE HSI"), announced today that seizure orders have been executed against 24 commercial websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works, as part of a Department of Justice and ICE HSI "Cyber Monday" crackdown. The coordinated federal law enforcement action, titled "Operation In Our Sites v. 2.0," targeted online retailers of a diverse array of counterfeit goods, including sports equipment, shoes, handbags, athletic apparel and sunglasses as well as illegal copies of copyrighted DVD boxed sets, and music. Federal courts throughout the country have executed seizure orders against a total of 82 website domain names. Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: "The fact that the Monday after Thanksgiving has come to be known as ‘Cyber Monday’ in the retail world, demonstrates what an important role the Internet plays in the sale of goods and services. Trafficking of counterfeit goods and criminal copyright infringement over the Internet is an epidemic, and reportedly results in billions of dollars in losses to the U.S. economy. That translates into lost jobs and real hardships for ordinary working people. Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to be vigilant in shutting down websites facilitating such criminal conduct." ICE HSI Special Agent-in-Charge JAMES T. HAYES, JR. said: "Counterfeiting, piracy and the unlawful importation of goods pose a triple threat to the national security, public safety and economic well-being of the United States. The enforcement of America's counterfeiting laws is about protecting the rights of those who play by the rules and keeping sub-par and unsafe merchandise off our streets and illicit funds out of the hands of organized criminal groups here and abroad." The first seizure warrant ("Seizure Warrant-1") ordered the seizure of the domain names of 23 websites –- OVERBESTMALL.COM, AMOYHY.COM, GOLFWHOLESALE18.COM, BOXSET4LESS.COM, STOREOFEAST.COM, DVDSUPERDEAL.COM, CARTOON77.COM, LOUIS-VUITTON-OUTLET-STORE.COM, THELOUISVUITTONOUTLET.COM, LOUISVUITTONOUTLETSTORE4U.COM, LOUISVUITTONOUTLETSTORES2U.COM, SHAWLS-STORE.COM, USAOUTLETS.NET, SCARFVIPONSALE.COM, BURBERRYOUTLETSHOP.COM, SILKSCARF-SHOP.COM, CHEAPSCARFSHOP.COM, SILKSCARFONSALE.COM, BISHOE.COM, ICQSHOES.COM, 51607.COM, STUFF-TRADE.COM, and MASSNIKE.COM –- for trafficking in counterfeit merchandise. Four of these websites – BOXSET4LESS.COM, STOREOFEAST.COM, DVDSUPERDEAL.COM, and CARTOON77.COM – were also ordered seized for violations of Federal criminal copyright infringement laws. The second warrant ("Seizure Warrant-2") ordered the seizure of the domain name TVSHACK.CC for violations of Federal criminal copyright infringement laws. According to the seizure warrant applications filed today in Manhattan Federal Court: The 23 websites ordered seized by Seizure Warrant-1 sell a variety of goods that bear counterfeit trademarks, including among other things, footwear, apparel, handbags and other accessories, digital video disks ("DVDs"), and sporting goods. The counterfeited trademarks include those of the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Nike, Chanel, Cartier, and other major brands. Four of the websites targeted by Seizure Warrant-1 also sold DVDs containing pirated movies and television programs. All of the websites targeted by Seizure Warrant-1 shipped infringing goods directly from China. The website TVSHACK.CC, which was ordered seized by Seizure Warrant-2, was a target of an ongoing investigation into websites that illegally distribute copyright-protected content, particularly first-run movies and television shows, over the Internet. TVSHACK.CC, is a "linking" website, which provides access, or "links," to other websites where pirated movies and television programs are stored. Linking websites allow users to quickly browse content and locate illegal copies of movies and television shows that would otherwise be more difficult to find. TVSHACK.CC is the successor to TVSHACK.NET, which was seized at the end of June 2010 for similar criminal copyright violations. At its inception, TVSHACK.CC’s homepage featured a photograph of a rap music group and the title of one of their songs: "F*ck the Police" - an apparent reference to the seizure of the site’s predecessor by law enforcement. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York will ask that the domain names for these websites be forfeited. As authorized by the warrants, all visitors to these websites will be redirected to a banner that advises them that the domain name has been seized by Order of the Court, in connection with criminal counterfeit and copyright violations. A copy of the banner is attached. Mr. BHARARA praised the work of ICE HSI and added that the investigation is continuing. The nationwide operation was spearheaded by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) led by ICE's Office of Homeland Security Investigations. The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. It allows law enforcement and the private sector jointly to address the growing transnational problem of counterfeit products. The IPR Center coordinates outreach to U.S. rights holders and conducts domestic and international law enforcement as well as coordinates and directs anti-counterfeiting investigations. To learn more about the IPR Center, visit www.ice.gov. This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Asset Forfeiture Units. Assistant United States Attorneys THOMAS G.A. BROWN, SARAH LAI, DAVID MILLER, JASON HERNANDEZ, and Special Assistant United States Attorney JOHN REH are in charge of the investigation. 10-374 ###

MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT ORDERS SEIZURES OF 24 WEBSITES FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY VIOLATIONS

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