§2323 Forfeiture, destruction, and restitution

Summary

The government can seize and keep property tied to certain copyright and related crimes listed in 17 U.S.C. 506 and 18 U.S.C. 2318, 2319, 2319A, 2319B, 2320, or chapter 90. That includes items whose making or sale is illegal under those sections, things used to commit or help those crimes, and money or goods that came from those crimes. Civil forfeiture rules in chapter 46 apply. The court must set rules to protect any seized records so private or confidential information is not wrongly shared. At the end of the forfeiture case, unless a U.S. agency asks otherwise, the court must order the forfeited property destroyed or dealt with according to law. When someone is convicted of those offenses, the court must order the person to forfeit the property tied to the crime as part of the sentence. The forfeiture process follows the procedures in 21 U.S.C. 853 (section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act), except subsection (d). At the end, counterfeit-marked parts and other infringing items must be destroyed or handled under the law unless a U.S. agency requests otherwise. The court must also order the convicted person to pay restitution to any victims under sections 3556, 3663A, and 3664, treating the offense as a property crime as described in 3663A(c)(1)(A)(ii).