Legal News

Federal authorities have shut down more than 70 websites in one the broadest actions yet against companies the government suspects of selling counterfeit or pirated products. Visitors to the affected sites--which offer such diverse goods as scarves, golfing gear and rap music--are greeted with a notice stating their domain names have been seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The notice cites penalties for willful copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods. An ICE spokeswoman confirmed that the agency executed court-ordered seizure warrants against a number of domain names, but declined additional comment... The agency, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, has been moving on multiple fronts to crack down on sales of goods it contends violate U.S. companies' trademarks and copyrights. In August, for example, officials from ICE and the Department of Justice charged 11 people with trafficking in items such as fake designer clothing, handbags and jewelry that were allegedly smuggled from China and offered for sale through eight shops in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. In June, ICE seized the domain names of nine websites accused of letting users watch streamed versions of first-run movies...