ENFORCEMENT
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Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement<br />
SECTION 3<br />
owners to furnish CBP with certain supplemental<br />
information, such as information on licensees and<br />
manufacturers, shipping channels, and shipping<br />
patterns. It has been CBP’s experience, however, that<br />
such information is soon outdated. Although some<br />
rights holders are diligent about maintaining current<br />
data, some are not, and others choose not to supply<br />
that information.<br />
CBP has recently upgraded IPRR to enable rights<br />
holders to renew recordations and update ownership<br />
information online. In considering further upgrades, CBP<br />
should consider developing an account-based platform<br />
to enable rights holders to access their information<br />
in real-time, which would increase the transparency<br />
and effectiveness of IPR enforcement. Rights holders<br />
should be encouraged to include product identification<br />
information when submitting a recordation application.<br />
In addition, CBP should encourage rights holders to<br />
develop product identification webinars that can be<br />
viewed live or on-demand by frontline officers working<br />
to authenticate recorded products.<br />
ACTION NO. 3.11: Enhance the IP rights<br />
recordation system database (IPRR). Within two<br />
years of the issuance of this Plan, CBP will pursue<br />
enhancements to the IPRR database to improve<br />
internal functionality and promote external<br />
transparency.<br />
ACTION NO. 3.12: Call for private sector<br />
best practices for partnering with CBP officials<br />
to enable rapid infringement determinations.<br />
Within one year of the issuance of this Plan, CBP<br />
will conduct outreach and report on impediments<br />
to voluntary submission of requested data<br />
and options for increasing IPRR participation,<br />
including education efforts targeted to industry<br />
highlighting the benefits of recordation. As<br />
part of this effort, CBP will engage with private<br />
sector stakeholders to discuss: the benefits<br />
and challenges of maintaining up-to-date<br />
recordations; submitting supplementary product<br />
identification materials; and providing training on<br />
IPRR systems and processes.<br />
7. Invest in Anti-Counterfeiting Technology.<br />
Given the rise of advanced manufacturing processes,<br />
the accessibility of global transportation networks, and<br />
other factors, we are now witnessing a proliferation of<br />
vast categories of counterfeit goods that are difficult<br />
to readily discern from a visual inspection. These illicit<br />
products—such as fake electronics, automotive and<br />
aircraft parts, pharmaceuticals, and consumer care<br />
products—pose significant risks to public health and<br />
safety, while also generating illicit revenue for criminal<br />
syndicates. 16 These illicit products cost governments<br />
and the private sector hundreds of billions of dollars<br />
annually, and undermine national interests when the<br />
products are intended for government or other sensitive<br />
operations and supply chains. 17<br />
The difficulty of product authentication—or put<br />
differently, counterfeit detection—is acutely felt by a<br />
number of entities. From frontline law enforcement<br />
personnel that are tasked with facilitating legitimate<br />
trade and preventing entry of counterfeit goods into<br />
the country, to intended end users who depend on the<br />
integrity or performance of the genuine article, and<br />
all the intermediaries in between (such as contractors,<br />
sub-contractors, wholesalers, retail outlets, service<br />
providers, etc.), effective product authentication remains<br />
an ongoing challenge.<br />
In light of these risks and challenges, an enhanced<br />
government response with the active participation<br />
of a wide range of actors is necessary to contribute<br />
to a multidisciplinary response to the problem. In<br />
particular, private sector stakeholders and technology<br />
providers may offer significant contributions for<br />
curbing counterfeiting, including by the development<br />
of technological solutions to safeguard domestic and<br />
global supply chains. 18<br />
Over the past few decades, a variety of anticounterfeiting<br />
technologies have been developed, from<br />
barcodes to holograms; invisible pigments, inks, and<br />
infrared markers; radio frequency identification tags<br />
(RFIDs); and more recently, embedded nanotechnologybased<br />
solutions. Certain legacy anti-counterfeiting<br />
technologies reportedly face a number of limitations,<br />
including difficulty in confirming accuracy in the field;<br />
the fact that the technology may itself be copied or<br />
spoofed; high manufacturing costs or reliance on<br />
expensive proprietary decoders that require trained<br />
102