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Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that the California Department of Justice has been awarded a prestigious federal grant to assist state law enforcement officials in addressing intellectual property crime.
The $200,000 grant will be used to investigate and prosecute intellectual property crimes such as piracy and for the development of training programs for California law enforcement officials and prosecutors to improve the investigation and prosecution of intellectual property theft.
Intellectual property crime is the taking of someone’s idea, such as music, a logo or a unique name, as well as the theft of any profitable new way of doing something. In recent years, intellectual property crime has shifted from the selling of goods in public places to the selling of Internet-based products.
“As technology continues to develop rapidly, thieves have moved their illegal activities to computers and the Internet,” said Attorney General Harris. “This grant will support my goal of being at the forefront of investigating these crimes and assuring that law enforcement officials throughout the state are well-equipped to bring those involved in intellectual property crimes to justice.”
Pirated intellectual property was once only available as a hard good – like a counterfeit DVD or Louis Vuitton bag that was only available on a street corner or at a swap meet. Now these goods are available at on-line market places or available on-line as a download. In these cases, revenue is generated not only from the sale of the pirated material, but also the advertising revenue generated by the Internet traffic that trades or views their stolen goods.
“California’s economy thrives on the intellectual property of artists, creators, inventors, authors, software designers, engineers and so many other innovators,” Harris said. “It is critical in California that we protect their creations from theft, misappropriation and counterfeiting.”
Because traditional law enforcement jurisdictions do not exist on the Internet, it has grown increasingly difficult for law enforcement officials to determine which agencies are responsible for investigating Internet-based intellectual property crime.
The Department of Justice’s eCrime Unit applied for the $200,000 federal grant to help fund the California Intellectual Property Theft Enforcement Program.
Last year, Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.
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Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) thanked Gov. Jerry Brown for signing his urgency bill that restricts the emergency transfer of Dungeness crab fishing permits.
AB 2363 takes effect immediately, in time for the beginning of this year’s crab season.
But Chesbro gave credit to Ronnie Pellegrini of Carlotta, a former Humboldt Bay harbor commissioner who brought the problem to the Legislature’s attention.
“The testimony of Ronnie, her husband, Paul, and other crab fishermen at the Fisheries Forum in February reached legislators who are in a position to pass laws making changes that are needed,” Chesbro said. “Because of Ronnie’s conscientiousness, California crab boats won’t have to contend with unfair competition from out-of-state vessels like last season and the Dungeness fishery will benefit as a whole.”
Pellegrini said she traveled to a meeting of the California Fish and Game Commission to speak about the frustration with so-called “tsunami boats” from out of state, who local crab fisherman felt were overrunning California’s crab fishery during the last Dungeness season.
A member of Chesbro’s staff who was watching the Fish and Game Commission meeting asked her to make a presentation to the annual Fisheries Forum, which was held in February at the Capitol.
The problem, Pellegrini explained, is that a number of boats destroyed in the Crescent City harbor by the March 2011 tsunami had little or no recent crab landings, yet the Department of Fish and Game allowed for the emergency transfer of their crab permits to out-of-state vessels with much larger capacity. This put a lot of pressure on California’s Dungeness fishery and created lop-sided competition for local crab fishermen.
“That was my issue,” Pellegrini said. “I’m thankful Assemblymember Chesbro was able to get this legislation done so fast, within a year, and I thank the governor signing into law in time for this season.”
Another provision of AB 2363, which also developed from testimony at the Fisheries Forum, allows the sale of meat from crabs that are pulled up to test whether the Dungeness are large enough for the season to start. This revenue will pay for the testing program, which has suffered from inconsistency in the past because it has lacked a stable funding source.
“This is very, very important for everyone involved in the industry, from the fishermen to the processors, to the consumer,” said Mike Cunningham, a Eureka crab fisherman who was a principal supporter of AB 2363 as it worked its way through the legislative process this year.
Other provisions of AB 2363 will:
- Allow the Department of Fish and Game to develop regulations to permit any licensed and permitted crab fisherman to retrieve lost or abandoned commercial crab traps at the end of the crab season, not just the owner of the trap. “This means less derelict fishing gear in the water to ensnare wildlife or to interfere with other fishing operations,” Chesbro said.
- Allow an administrative law judge, when reviewing appeals under soon-to-be-implemented crab trap limits, to waive appeal fees based on military service or medical hardship.
The Fisheries Forum is hosted by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, which Chesbro currently chairs.
“The Legislation that Ronnie advocated for in February illustrates the whole idea behind the Fisheries Forum,” Chesbro said. “We invite men and women involved in fishing, members of the aquaculture community and conservation groups from all over California to come to the Capitol and engage the Legislature on issues facing our fisheries. Over the past forty years a number of laws protecting fisheries, aquaculture and marine interests were developed as a result of information gathered at the annual Fisheries Forum at the Capitol.”
The 2013 Fisheries Forum is scheduled for February.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Lake County winegrape growers recently entertained award-winning wine columnist and author Lettie Teague.
As a guest of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, Teague visited several Lake County vineyards and wineries and met several of the area’s winemakers.
“We were thrilled to give Lettie a VIP tour of our premier wine-making region,” said Commission President Shannon Gunier. “We tried to entice her on previous occasions without success. Andy Beckstoffer, owner of Beckstoffer Vineyards, was able to convince her to spend some time in Lake County. We are so grateful for Andy’s efforts to bring such a renown wine industry writer to see our beautiful vineyards and taste our high quality wines.”
While in Lake County in mid-September, Teague spent a day touring vineyards with Beckstoffer. The tour included stops at Beckstoffer’s Amber Knolls vineyard, Peter Molnar’s vineyards at Obsidian Ridge, Vigilance Winery and Gregory Graham’s vineyards.
Winemakers Nils Venge of Cougar’s Leap, Dave Guffy of Hess, Clay Shannon of Vigilance, Ron Bartolucci of Bartolucci Vineyards, Jed Steele of Steele Wines and Pedro Rubio, general manager at Beckstoffer Vineyards, joined Gunier, Beckstoffer, Commission chair Molnar and Graham in welcoming Teague to Lake County, according to Gunier.
The winemakers were able to speak with Teague while enjoying a “fantastic” lunch provided by Chic Le Chef, said Gunier. Teague was treated to dinner the night before at the Tallman Hotel’s Blue Wing Saloon and Restaurant.
“We had a wonderful time with Lettie, and we hope she enjoyed meeting our winemakers and discussing Lake County’s prominent wine industry,” said Gunier. “Bringing wine writers to Lake County is in line with the Commission’s marketing efforts. We welcome the attention from such high-caliber journalists.”
Teague is a staff writer and wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to her employment at the Journal, Teague spent 10 years as wine columnist of Food & Wine magazine and was its wine editor for 12 years.
Her writing has garnered several honors including the James Beard Award (three times) and the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.
In addition, Teague is the author of “Educating Peter: How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert.” She illustrated and co-authored “Fear of Wine: An Introductory Guide to the Grape.”
For information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the area’s vineyards, and the Commission’s various programs, visit the Commission’s website at www.lakecountywinegrape.org .
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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) to boost California’s growing aquaculture industry.
AB 1886 expands the role of an industry funded aquaculture coordinator within the Department of Fish and Game (DFG).
“Aquaculture is a clean, sustainable industry that has great growth potential in California, especially on the North Coast,” Chesbro said. “The coordinator program is important to the continued growth of California aquaculture, especially when it comes to helping the industry to meet high environmental standards.”
“The California Aquaculture Association requested this legislation and the industry asked for an increase in licensing fees to pay for the expansion of the aquaculture coordinator’s duties,” Chesbro added.
Specifically AB 1886:
- Requires DFG’s aquaculture coordinator to coordinate with California’s Aquaculture Development Committee, which is comprised of industry representatives, state regulators and other stakeholders.
- Increases fees for first time registration and renewal of aquaculture operations and increases the base penalties for engaging in aquaculture without paying registration or renewal fees.
- Requires the DFG to apply revenue from these fees specifically to the aquaculture coordinator program and maintain an up-to-date cost accounting and provide it to the Legislature and the Aquaculture Development Committee.
Greg Dale is the Eureka-based regional manager for Coast Seafoods, which is a major producer of oysters on Humboldt Bay. He is past president of the California Aquaculture Association and currently serves on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District.
“The aquaculture industry is pleased the governor signed Assemblymember Chesbro’s bill,” Dale said. “The coordinator helps the industry collaborate with the DFG on sustainable aquaculture practices and relay our successes to the public.”
“The California Aquaculture Association offered to pay higher fees to expand the coordinator program and in return require the DFG to increase transparency and accountability,” Dale added. “This legislation ensures revenue from these fees is applied to the aquaculture coordinator program and that an accounting of the program is provided.”