Bad news for sites selling illegal counterfeits — the goverment has shut a good amount of them down!
You know, because there aren’t bigger issues to deal with.
But as part of their Operation In Our Sites II, they shut down 82 sites just in time to hurt them during Cyber Monday yesterday. The first Operation In Our Sites was announced this past June and targeted sites selling pirated copies of movies.
As for version 2.0, agents made purchases from the websites earlier this year, and the ones found to have been selling counterfeit items were targeted.
The sites were shut down and redirected to the message above from the government.
We get it, selling counterfeit items does hurt the economy and businesses, but aren’t there bigger issues at the moment to spend tax payer money on?
The Department of Justice released a statement explaining their actions to which they rationalized that:
“By seizing these domain names, we have disrupted the sale of thousands of counterfeit items, while also cutting off funds to those willing to exploit the ingenuity of others for their own personal gain. Intellectual property crimes are not victimless. The theft of ideas and the sale of counterfeit goods threaten economic opportunities and financial stability, suppress innovation and destroy jobs. The Justice Department, with the help of our law enforcement partners, is changing the perception that these crimes are risk-free with enforcement actions like the one announced today.”
What do U think of shutting down the sites? A move in the right direction?
And if you'd like to read the entire statement issued by the government, check it out after the jump!
Tags: counterfeits, illegal, sales, shut down, statement, website
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