Nomination in respect of U.S. Department of Justice's Intellectual Property Crimes Enforcement Network (IPCEN): Invitation for CBIC - Customs - F. NO. 15021/134/2023-ICD-CBEC

F. NO. 15021/134/2023-ICD-CBEC Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Indirect Taxes Customs International Customs Division New Delhi, 20 September, 2023 To, I. Principal Chief Commissioners/ Chief Commissioners of Customs (Preventive) 2, Principal Chief Commissioners/ Chief Commissioners of Customs Ma'am/Sir, Sub: Nomination in respect of U.S. Department of Justice's Intellectual Property Crimes Enforcement Network (IPCEN): Invitation for CBIC-regarding. Please find attached Invitation letter from U.S Intellectual Property Counsellor for South Asia, Embassy of the United States of America-New Delhi, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the subject above. 2. In this regard, it is requested to kindly nominate one officer from your formation, of the level of Additional/ Joint Commissioner or Deputy/Assistant Commissioner to participate in the said programme. It is requested that the CV of the officer, reflecting alignment with the objectives of the said programme, may be forwarded along with the nomination. 3. It is requested to forward the nomination directly to ICD, CBIC, not later than COB 21 st September. 2023 for further necessary action at this end please. 4. This may be treated as MOST URGENT. Encl: as above. Yours sincerely, (Neetisha Verma) Senior Technical Officer (ICD) Tel No. (+91) 11 2309 4610 e-mail: [email protected] UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Embassy of the United States of America American Center, Connaught Place 24, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi, India 110001 September 15, 2023 Mr. Sanjay Kumar Agrawal Central Board of Indirect Taxes Customs (CBIC) Department of Revenue (Ministry of Finance) Government of India Dear Mr. Agrawal, On behalf of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), I am delighted to extend an invitation to up to three (3) candidates of your choosing from CBIC to participate in the seventh meeting of the U .S. Department of Justice's Intellectual Property Crimes Enforcement Network (IPCEN) to be held November 14-16, 2023, in Bangkok, Thailand. As a mere suggestion to ensure a broad cross section of your office's participation, perhaps Mr. Suhrud Avinash Rabde, (Assistant Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), Mr. Harish Kumar Vashistha, (Commissioner, Investigation - Customs) and Mr. Manish Thapliyal (Additional Director, National Customs Targeting Center), or other designees as you see fit will be able to participate in the program. This will be the seventh meeting of the IPCEN that brings together key law enforcement and industry officials from more than a dozen Asian nations with the goal of strengthening international cooperation in fighting large-scale intellectual property crimes. The IPCEN was established in 2007 under the leadership of the Bangkok-based Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator (IPLEC) for Asia (now referred to as International Computer Hacking and IP Attorney Advisor or ICHIP ). The Bangkok-based ICHIP and Hong Kong-based ICHIP are both part of the U.S. Transnational and High-Tech Crime Global Law Enforcement Network (GLEN), which is funded primarily by U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Global Programs and Policy (INL/GPP), who partners with DOJ in its management. The GLEN includes not just twelve ICHIPs, but also cyber forensic analysts, and federal law enforcement, as part of a global capacity building effort focused on IP and cyber-criminal activity, as well as the gathering and use of electronic evidence to combat all types of crime. Under the GLEN umbrella, the IPCEN serves two primary functions: 1. The network facilitates the exchange of successful investigation and prosecution strategies in combating domestic counterfeiting, copyright, and trade secrets crimes. Panels of law enforcement experts will share best practices and lessons leamed in addressing retail and online counterfeiting and piracy, mass production and distribution of counterfeit goods, criminal copyright offenses, trade secret violations, and border enforcement strategies. 2. The IPCEN strengthens communications channels to promote coordinated, multinational prosecutions of the most serious offenders. Recognizing that effective prosecution of IP crime depends heavily on cooperation between victims and law enforcement authorities, industry representatives also will address the conference regarding the scope and severity of counterfeiting and digital piracy crimes in Asia and discuss ways to collectively enhance enforcement efforts. The Department of Justice, through the USPTO at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi will cover the purchase of economy-class airline tickets from India to Bangkok, ground transportation to and from the airport, accommodation, and meals throughout the duration of the workshop, and the cost of incidentals and any meals that are not already provided for during the course of the program. Participants should arrive on November 13 and depart on November 17. The USPTO, South Asia Office, will gladly assist with coordinating travel arrangements. We hope that you will benefit from this workshop and look forward to your participation. Alternatively, if you have recently participated in a U.S. government sponsored program, we would welcome the participation of another nominee from your esteemed organization as you see fit. Your point of contact for this program will be Tarini Tiwari. Please provide nominee's full name, duty title, cell phone number, email address and a copy of the passport bio-data page at [email protected] no later than September 25, 2023 . Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need any additional information. Sincerely, John Cabeca U.S. Intellectual Property Counselor for South Asia Embassy of the United States of America New Delhi United States Patent and Trademark Office