BJA FY 23 Intellectual Property Enforcement Program: Protecting Public Health, Safety, and the Economy from Counterfeit Goods and Product Piracy | O BJA 2023 171686

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171686

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), under the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP), offered the FY 2023 Intellectual Property Enforcement Program: Protecting Public Health, Safety, and the Economy from Counterfeit Goods and Product Piracy (Funding Opportunity Number: O-BJA-2023-171686). This is a discretionary grant opportunity (CFDA 16.752) designed to help law enforcement agencies strengthen their ability to prevent, investigate, and disrupt intellectual property (IP) crimes, particularly the trafficking of counterfeit goods and product piracy that can endanger consumers, undermine legitimate businesses, and harm local and national economies.

The core purpose of the program is to support the formation, expansion, or enhancement of IP enforcement task forces. BJA is specifically looking for applications from agencies that already operate an IP enforcement task force or that have a clear plan to create one. The emphasis is on coordinated, multi-agency enforcement models rather than isolated efforts. Task forces are expected to work across jurisdictions and disciplines and to build practical partnerships that improve case development, intelligence-sharing, and operational effectiveness in identifying and stopping counterfeit and pirated products.

A major expectation in this solicitation is strong collaboration with other governmental partners at the state, local, territorial, tribal, and federal levels. The opportunity explicitly highlights coordination with the local U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO), signaling that applicants should be prepared to align investigative and enforcement efforts with prosecutorial priorities and federal resources where appropriate. In practice, this kind of structure is meant to help task forces move complex cases forward more effectively, especially when counterfeit networks span multiple jurisdictions or involve sophisticated supply chains and online distribution.

The solicitation also sits within OJP's broader public safety and justice priorities. OJP states that it is committed to advancing civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting crime victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, protecting the public from evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the community. While the program is focused on IP enforcement, applicants are expected to understand and reflect these department-wide values in the way they design and carry out enforcement strategies, partnerships, and community-facing activities.

Eligible applicants are a wide range of government and public entities that commonly lead or host task forces. Eligibility includes state governments; county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and Native American tribal organizations (including those that are not federally recognized tribal governments). This broad eligibility allows the program to support different regional models, including task forces led by state or local law enforcement agencies as well as collaborations anchored by public universities when they have a relevant operational role and capacity.

Key administrative details include an original application closing date of May 23, 2023, and a maximum award amount (award ceiling) of $375,000 per award. The awarding agency is the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the opportunity was created on March 30, 2023. Overall, the program is intended to invest targeted resources into organized enforcement efforts that reduce the availability of counterfeit and pirated goods, protect consumers from unsafe products, and support fair economic activity by disrupting criminal enterprises that profit from infringement and counterfeit distribution.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 Intellectual Property Enforcement Program: Protecting Public Health, Safety, and the Economy from Counterfeit Goods and Product Piracy" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.752.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-03-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-23. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $375,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

Apply for O BJA 2023 171686

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