The Department of Justice has announced the creation of an Intellectual Property Task Force to deal with international piracy and counterfeiting. Attorney General John Ashcroft named Deputy Chief of Staff David M. Israelite as its head.
Ashcroft said, "I have asked the Task Force to look at ways the Department can strengthen and improve our efforts to combat theft of intellectual property."
Initial reaction in the adult video community, one of the most frequent victims of such theft, was cautiously optimistic.
"I hope it's applied evenhandedly across the board to all intellectual properties," Anabolic Video owner Christopher Alexander told AVN.com. He and Diabolic Video owner Greg Allen have long been active in anti-piracy activities and vocal about the need for tougher oversight.
"I'm sure this came about because of Semantic and Microsoft," he said, "not Anabolic and Diabolic, but I'm certainly optimistic and I hope my optimism is not misplaced."
