The war against internet piracy has stepped up a notch.

The launch of “Operation in Our Sites,” a new U.S. initiative aimed at internet counterfeiting and piracy, was announced on Wednesday. But what makes this initiative different is that it partners law-enforcement officials with representatives of the entertainment industry.

Hollywood will provide technological advice and support, as well as helping identify the illegal downloaders.

To prove the point, the announcement was made at the Disney Studios in Burbank, with Immigration and Customs’ Assistant Secretary John Morton joined by senior representatives from major movie studios, entertainment unions and the Motion Picture Association of America.

The initiative's first action was to seize nine domain names of websites that were offering first-run movies, often within hours of their theatrical release. 

Seven of those sites were targeted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In addition, agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s  Homeland Security Investigations seized assets from 15 bank, Paypal, investment and advertising accounts. It also executed four residential search warrants in several states.

The seven sites were TVShack.net, Movies-links.tv, Filespump.com, Now-movies.com, PlanetMoviez.com, PirateCity.org and zml.com.

Working undercover, investigators downloaded various newly released movies from the websites and their affiliates.

Also on Wednesday, the domain names and content were seized of NinjaVideo.net and NinjaThis.net, both of which generated revenue from donations and advertising by allowing the streaming or downloading of popular television shows and movies.

Over the course of the investigation, agents observed links to more than 200 movies and more than 300 television programs on NinjaVideo. 

"American business is under attack from countefeiters and pirates," Morton said at the press conference. "Internet crooks threaten the U.S. economy on a grand scale."

Asked about the potential problems that might arise with partnering so heavily with industry, he said, "This is a great national industry. When industry is victimized, they should be treated no differently than an individual who is victimized on the corner of Fourth and Main."

The new initiative also represents a more comprehensive effort to prosecute downloaders or pirates, rather than the piecemeal approach to prosecution that already exists.

For instance, with regards to the seizures and closures announced Wednesday, the class of sites identified were all link sites.

The initiative makes good on a promise made by Vice President Joe Biden earlier this month. On June 22, Biden unveiled the White House's strategic plan to increase intellectual-property enforcement. “Piracy is theft,” he said at the time. “It is smash-and-grab, no different from smashing a window at Tiffany.”

Members of the Hollywood community, naturally, applauded the new effort in statements on Wednesday.

“Content theft online has become increasingly ubiquitous as technology and software improve and access to the Internet increases,” said Mike Robinson, chief of operations, content protection for the MPAA. “We are committed to working with law enforcement to get the illegal choices out of the marketplace and instead focus on continuing to offer more innovative and flexible legal options to consumers to enjoy the movies and TV shows that we all love.”

“We are facing a dramatic rise in the number of foreign and domestic websites that are in the business of making films and television shows -- created by our members -- available for illegal download or streaming,” said Kathy Garmezy, associate executive director of government and international affairs for the Directors Guild of America. “If left unchecked, this illegal activity threatens the very ability of filmmakers to both earn a living and create the content that is enjoyed by billions around the world.”

“We commend the action of ICE and the IPR Center in striking a significant blow against those who seek to profit from the copyrighted, intellectual property of others,” said Matthew D. Loeb, president of theInternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. “The stealing of digital content is not a victimless crime; it’s also the theft of tens of thousands of American jobs.”

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