Trademark Offender Intelligence Enhancment Project

This program is funded under both the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program) and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 111-8), the Byrne Competitive Program helps local communities improve the capacity of state and local justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs. The JAG Program (42 U.S.C. 3751(a)) is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, and JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system. The JAG Program authorization also states that 'the Attorney General may reserve not more than 5 percent, to be granted to 1 or more States or units of local government, for 1 or more of the purposes specified in section 3751 of this title, pursuant to his determination that the same is necessary'(1) to combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime' (42 U.S.C. 3756).

The Intellectual Property Enforcement, Training, and Technical Assistance Program is designed to provide national support and improve the capacity of state and local criminal justice systems to address intellectual property criminal enforcement, including prosecution, prevention, training, and technical assistance.

The North Carolina Secretary of State (NCSOS) will enforce trademark (TM) violations in all one hundred (100) counties within the State of North Carolina. NCSOS has two (2) full-time sworn investigators to cover this vast territory. To supplement this effort and leverage resources to the maximum extent, the NCSOS created a standing TM Task Force in 2004, which is currently comprised of thirty-five (35) local law enforcement officers spread across the state. NCSOS will increase the TM Taskforce members to have the ability to bring a digital data collection device to the scene of arrest/investigation in order to retrieve the data stored in the offender's cell phone. They will purchase analytical software designed to process cell phone data, and a dedicated server, links to other suspects and locations will be clearly established. The resulting intelligence will allow a focusing of limited resources to specific persons or geographic areas.

CA/NCF