0:00:01.080,0:00:06.320
John Morton (Director of ICE): Today is Cyber Monday, one of the busiest Internet shopping days of the year.

0:00:06.360,0:00:14.460
According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 100 million people shopped on this day last year, and we expect similar numbers this year.

0:00:14.950,0:00:21.720
Most of this commerce is legitimate: real goods, real vendors, real presents for the Xmas tree.

0:00:21.830,0:00:30.930
Parts of this commerce are also a fraud: fake goods, fake vendors, shoddy presents unlikely to bring any holiday cheer.

0:00:31.030,0:00:38.190
Counterfeiters are prowling in the back alleys of the internet, masquerading, duping and stealing.

0:00:38.340,0:00:45.210
They are masquerading as legitimate retailers, duping shoppers, and stealing from real businesses and their workers.

0:00:47.200,0:00:49.690
William Ross (ICE)These web sites were just seized by the US government.

0:00:50.730,0:00:57.270
Why? they were selling counterfeit and pirated versions of trusted-branded products.

0:00:57.980,0:01:02.880
Shutting down these sites is the job of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center,

0:01:03.180,0:01:08.230
and HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within ICE

0:01:08.370,0:01:11.060
This operation, called Operation in Our Sites II,

0:01:11.240,0:01:14.210
was conducted during the lead-up to Cyber Monday,

0:01:14.290,0:01:16.490
the busiest online shopping day of the year.

0:01:18.060,0:01:22.160
HSI agents seized dozens of websites selling counterfeit products,

0:01:22.400,0:01:25.190
passing them off as the real thing, and making profits.

0:01:25.800,0:01:28.730
It is our duty to protect the US consumer,

0:01:28.850,0:01:31.940
the companies who have built their reputations on these brand names,

0:01:32.090,0:01:34.030
and the integrity of the Internet.

0:01:34.210,0:01:37.880
For you, the consumer, keep these tips in mind when buying things online:

0:01:39.010,0:01:41.150
Buy from sites that respect the rights

0:01:41.270,0:01:45.020
and if the price is too good to be true, it's not the real deal.

0:01:45.870,0:01:50.800
John Morton: Have we rid the Internet of these websites? No. There are others, there will be more.

0:01:50.870,0:01:56.170
Will many of these websites reappear under different domain names? Yes, they will.

0:01:56.300,0:02:01.470
But I can tell you this: we are not going away. If we can seize websites, we will.

0:02:01.570,0:02:06.180
If we can find the operators, we will. If we can arrest and prosecute counterfeiters

0:02:06.280,0:02:08.140
and copyright violators, we will.

0:02:08.270,0:02:13.170
This is a long fight. But we at ICE and DoJ are committed to it, period.

0:02:13.340,0:02:17.430
Make no mistake about it. We are in the throes of a heated and pitched battle.

0:02:17.550,0:02:22.510
This isn't a game, it's not a sideshow. American business, American labor,

0:02:22.560,0:02:24.890
American innovation are under assault.

0:02:25.020,0:02:27.680
We either wage this fight, here and now,

0:02:27.810,0:02:32.430
or we give in to the steady loss of American ingenuity and know-how.

0:02:32.500,0:02:35.470
William Ross: Remember, the people who steal intellectual property

0:02:35.490,0:02:37.700
are not just taking other people's ideas.

0:02:37.870,0:02:41.110
They're taking American jobs, hurting the American economy,

0:02:41.200,0:02:43.600
and potentially threatening your safety.

0:02:44.860,0:02:47.160
And if you see this banner while shopping online,

0:02:47.260,0:02:50.640
you'll know that the IPR center is looking out for your best interests.

0:02:50.770,0:02:52.540
Happy holiday shopping.

0:02:52.610,0:02:58.550
(onscreen: logos of several institutions, with HSI and IPR logos in the middle)