Intellectual property crime—a major element of transnational crime—poses a threat to three critical issues in the United States: national security, public health, and the economy. Although not every transaction in the black market touches upon every social vulnerability, they nonetheless have major cascading and overlapping effects that exacerbate social risks. On national security, transnational crime is strengthening insurgent groups (cartels, gangs, and terrorists) around the world—and activities from domestic criminals may fund operations of foreign organizations—which ultimately put U.S. national security interests at greater risk. On public health, counterfeit and other illicit products, particularly illicit pharmaceuticals, are endangering consumers’ health and safety, while also causing long-term dangers to global public health and the environment. On the economy, the total costs of transnational crime on society and the ways deviant entrepreneurs navigate market opportunities illustrate the enormity of intellectual property crimes and transnational crime in general.

Deviant entrepreneurs are also accelerating their illicit activities online, taking advantage of new developments in technology. While federal and local law enforcement pursues efforts to combat these illicit activities, intellectual property crime must be viewed as part of a larger problem that is undermining not only the stability of the United States but the stability of other countries across the globe.