Remarks of Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General
Office of Justice Programs
Intellectual Property Forum
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Washington, DC
Good afternoon! I'm Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs. I'm so pleased you could all join us today.
As you know, the Obama Administration and the Department of Justice have made intellectual property enforcement a top priority. In just a moment, you'll hear from two top officials of this Administration about our efforts to fight these crimes.
The Attorney General put the problem in context a few days ago when he said that "IP crimes threaten economic opportunities and financial stability." "They destroy jobs," he said. "They suppress innovation. And they can jeopardize the health and safety of the men and women we are sworn to protect."
We're working diligently - across this Administration - to combat these crimes. And I'm proud that OJP - working through BJA - is a critical part of this effort. This year, we awarded some $4 million to states and localities to support prevention, investigation, and prosecution activities. And I'm very pleased to announce that, in the coming days, we'll be releasing a new IP solicitation to support state and local enforcement and outreach. I encourage you to keep your eye out for that on our BJA Web site over the next few days.
Now, it's my real pleasure to introduce our next two speakers. Because we don't have much time, I'm going to introduce them both now - starting with Gary Grindler - and I'll ask that Victoria Espinel come up to speak immediately after him.
Our first speaker - and we're very honored to have him here - is the Acting Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Gary Grindler. Gary is a Justice Department veteran. He's served in many capacities, including as a prosecutor in two U.S. Attorneys' Offices. He also has extensive experience in private practice with white collar crime matters. In his current role, he's responsible for heading the Department's Task Force on Intellectual Property, which the Attorney General established early this year.
Our second speaker is Victoria Espinel, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in the White House.
Victoria has broad and in-depth experience in intellectual property law. She was the first Assistant United States Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation. She's taught intellectual property and international trade law at George Mason Law School, and she's advised Congress on this issue.
President Obama appointed Victoria to her current position last year, and she was confirmed by the Senate last December.
I'm very pleased that both Gary and Victoria could be here today. Please join me in welcoming the Acting Deputy Attorney General.
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