BJA FY24 Intellectual Property Enforcement Program: Protecting Public Health, Safety, and the Economy from Counterfeit Goods and Product Piracy | O BJA 2024 172080

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2024 172080

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) FY24 Intellectual Property Enforcement Program: Protecting Public Health, Safety, and the Economy from Counterfeit Goods and Product Piracy is a discretionary federal grant opportunity (CFDA 16.752) focused on strengthening law enforcement capacity to address intellectual property (IP) crime. The program is aimed at helping jurisdictions prevent and reduce IP theft and related criminal activity, while also improving the investigation and prosecution of cases involving counterfeit goods and product piracy. A key emphasis is the real-world harm that counterfeit and pirated products can cause, including threats to public health and safety and the economic damage to legitimate businesses and consumers. The program also recognizes that IP crime can be connected to broader criminal activity, including violent crime, and it supports efforts to reduce that violence when it is associated with IP investigations and cases.

This solicitation is specifically designed to support law enforcement agencies that already operate an IP enforcement task force as well as agencies that plan to create one. In practical terms, funding is meant to help state, local, and tribal jurisdictions build or enhance coordinated, task-force style approaches to IP enforcement, typically involving investigators and prosecutors and often requiring cross-jurisdiction collaboration. The work supported under this program centers on operational enforcement: detecting and disrupting counterfeit distribution, investigating organized piracy networks, developing prosecutable cases, and supporting prosecutions that hold offenders accountable. While the opportunity summary does not list specific allowable cost categories, it is clearly oriented toward strengthening enforcement and prosecution functions and improving the ability of agencies to handle IP-related cases effectively.

Eligibility is broad across government and public-sector entities involved in justice and public safety. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, and city or township governments, as well as special district governments and public or state-controlled institutions of higher education. The solicitation also includes Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments) and other eligible entities as defined by the program. The description further highlights that units of local government (such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, and other general purpose political subdivisions of a state) may apply, and it explicitly includes state, local, tribal, municipal, and campus law enforcement agencies, including prosecutors. This structure signals that BJA expects applicants to be directly involved in criminal justice operations and capable of managing investigations and prosecutions tied to IP crime.

The funding opportunity number is O-BJA-2024-172080, and the program was created on April 16, 2024, with an original application closing date of June 12, 2024. Awards are capped at an award ceiling of $375,000 per award, with BJA expecting to make approximately 6 awards. Overall, the grant is positioned as a targeted investment in specialized enforcement capabilities to reduce counterfeit goods and piracy, protect communities from unsafe products, and mitigate the economic and public safety impacts tied to IP-related criminal activity.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY24 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 2024-04-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-12. (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.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• 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 organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Others.

Apply for O BJA 2024 172080

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