---
kind: "section"
citation: "19 U.S.C. § 4344"
title: "19"
title_heading: "Customs Duties"
number: "4344"
heading: "National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/19/4344"
units:
  - "Chapter 28 — Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement"
  - "Subchapter III — Import-Related Protection of Intellectual Property Rights"
---

# §4344. National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center

- (a) **Establishment—** The [Secretary](/usc/19/1681.md?p=1) of Homeland Security shall—
  - (1) establish within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center; and
  - (2) appoint an Assistant Director to head the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
- (b) **Duties—** The Assistant Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center shall—
  - (1) coordinate the investigation of sources of merchandise that infringe intellectual property rights to identify organizations and individuals that produce, smuggle, or distribute such merchandise;
  - (2) conduct and coordinate training with other domestic and international law enforcement agencies on investigative best practices—
    - (A) to develop and expand the capability of such agencies to enforce intellectual property rights; and
    - (B) to develop metrics to assess whether the training improved enforcement of intellectual property rights;
  - (3) coordinate, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, activities conducted by the [United States](/usc/19/1683.md?p=9) to prevent the importation or exportation of merchandise that infringes intellectual property rights;
  - (4) support the international interdiction of merchandise destined for the [United States](/usc/19/1683.md?p=9) that infringes intellectual property rights;
  - (5) collect and integrate information regarding infringement of intellectual property rights from domestic and international law enforcement agencies and other non-Federal sources;
  - (6) develop a means to receive and organize information regarding infringement of intellectual property rights from such agencies and other sources;
  - (7) disseminate information regarding infringement of intellectual property rights to other Federal agencies, as appropriate;
  - (8) develop and implement risk-based alert systems, in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to improve the targeting of [persons](/usc/19/1683.md?p=8) that repeatedly infringe intellectual property rights;
  - (9) coordinate with the offices of [United States](/usc/19/1683.md?p=9) attorneys in order to develop expertise in, and assist with the investigation and prosecution of, crimes relating to the infringement of intellectual property rights; and
  - (10) carry out such other duties as the [Secretary](/usc/19/1681.md?p=1) of Homeland Security may assign.
- (c) **Coordination with other agencies—** In carrying out the duties described in [subsection (b)](#b), the Assistant Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center shall coordinate with—
  - (1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
  - (2) the Food and Drug Administration;
  - (3) the Department of Justice;
  - (4) the Department of Commerce, including the [United States](/usc/19/1683.md?p=9) Patent and Trademark Office;
  - (5) the [United States](/usc/19/1683.md?p=9) Postal Inspection [Service](/usc/19/2576b.md?p=4);
  - (6) the Office of the [United States](/usc/19/1683.md?p=9) [Trade Representative](/usc/19/1677.md?p=32);
  - (7) any Federal, [State](/usc/19/2577.md?p=2), local, or international law enforcement agencies that the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement considers appropriate; and
  - (8) any other entities that the Director considers appropriate.
- (d) **Private sector outreach—**
  - (1) **In general—** The Assistant Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center shall work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other Federal agencies to conduct outreach to [private sector entities](/usc/19/4301.md?p=5) in order to determine trends in and methods of infringing intellectual property rights.
  - (2) **Information sharing—** The Assistant Director shall share information and best practices with respect to the enforcement of intellectual property rights with [private sector entities](/usc/19/4301.md?p=5), as appropriate, in order to coordinate public and private sector efforts to combat the infringement of intellectual property rights.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 114–125, title III, § 305, Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 151.)