Chris Israel, U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement in the Department of Commerce, emails:

First, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales highlighted the results of the Progress Report of the Department of Justice’s Intellectual Property Task Force at a United States Chamber of Commerce’s Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy program. He specifically announced that the Task Force has fully implemented all 31 recommendations contained in its 2004 report, and in some cases, went well beyond those recommendations. . . .

Second, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab joined their EU counterparts to launch the . . . U.S.-EU Action Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, [which] is built upon concrete actions aimed at: promoting strong and effective enforcement internally and at our borders; strengthening cooperation to reduce global piracy and counterfeiting; and fostering public-private partnerships to protect intellectual property. Initial efforts will focus on working more closely together to address challenges in China and Russia. Additional concerns in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East will also be addressed. Accompanying the launch of this Strategy, which will be highlighted at the U.S.-EU Summit this week in Vienna, was an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal.