ENFORCEMENT

Recommendations

Info

Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement SECTION 4 developing countries, as well. 24 Low- and middle-income countries, and those in areas of conflict or civil unrest, face considerable difficulties in securing their supply chains from illicit trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, and as a result, criminal networks target, corrupt, and work to actively undermine such markets. By way of example, an enforcement operation organized by the World Customs Organization in partnership with the Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) (Operation Vice Grips 2) was conducted simultaneously at 16 major African seaports in July 2012, with 110 maritime containers being inspected. Of these, 84 containers (or 76 percent) “were found to contain counterfeit or illicit products,” resulting in “the seizure of more than 100 million counterfeit products of all categories.” 25 These and other disproportionate effects in vulnerable markets must be addressed collaboratively by the international community, and trade policy must bridge regulatory and enforcement gaps between developed and developing economies. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in coordination with the U.S. interagency, uses U.S. trade policy tools to support U.S. exports, integrity in the global marketplace, and effective enforcement of U.S. intellectual property rights including: (1) the promotion of strong IP standards, consistent with U.S. law, in the drafting, negotiation, monitoring, and enforcement of international trade agreements and in bilateral and multilateral dialogues with U.S. trading partners; (2) the annual “Special 301” review of the global state of intellectual property rights protection and enforcement to encourage and maintain enabling environments for innovation and investment; and (3) the “Out-of- Cycle Reviews of Notorious Markets” to increase public awareness of and guide related trade and other enforcement actions in physical and online markets that exemplify global counterfeiting and piracy concerns. To combat the intellectual property crimes and enforcement shortcomings in the international marketplace, the USTR annually assesses the state of IP protection and enforcement abroad in the Special 301 Review pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 2242). 26 This review allows for various designations of countries, including as a “Priority Watch List” country or a “Watch List” country. The USTR works proactively with various trading partners to address the concerns raised in the Special 301 report. Trade agreements and strong enforcement tools are necessary in order to set high standards that support the rule of law. Through such effective trade policy tools and agreements, we work to ensure that our workers, our businesses, and our values are shaping globalization and the 21st century economy. ACTION NO. 4.7: Use Special 301 tools to address international IP and trade challenges. USTR, in collaboration with Federal agencies, will continue to review IP protection and enforcement frameworks of our trading partners and identify challenges to effective protection and enforcement of IPR, and obstacles to market access for U.S. persons that rely on IP protection. 132
Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator CHINA IN FOCUS: A SNAPSHOT VIEW OF IPR POLICIES AND PRACTICES “Effective IPR enforcement remains a serious problem throughout China. IPR enforcement is hampered by lack of coordination among Chinese government ministries and agencies, lack of training, resource constraints, lack of transparency in the enforcement process and its outcomes, procedural obstacles to civil enforcement, and local protectionism and corruption.” USTR Report to Congress on China’s WTO Compliance (Dec. 2015), p. 120 As detailed by the U.S. Government in annual IPR-related reporting, China’s weak protection of intellectual property presents serious implications for global commerce. Between FY 2005 and FY 2015, the Department of Homeland Security seizures related to intellectual property right (IPR) violations leapt from 8,022 to 28,865, with products originating in China and Hong Kong (often used as a transit point from goods originating from the mainland) accounting for 83% of all IPR seizures in 2015. These violations of intellectual property rights cause significant business losses, undermine U.S. competitiveness in the world marketplace, undermine the rule of law, and in many cases, threaten public health and safety, among other attendant harms. China has undertaken a wide-ranging revision of its framework of laws and regulations aimed at protecting the intellectual property rights of domestic and foreign right holders. However, inadequacies in China’s IPR protection and enforcement regime continue to present serious barriers to U.S. exports and investment and to affect our markets at home. 27 The U.S. Government again placed China on the ‘Priority Watch List’ in USTR’s Special 301 report, and several Chinese markets were among those included in USTR’s 2015 Notorious Markets List, which identifies online and physical markets that exemplify key challenges in the global struggle against piracy and counterfeiting. China continues to present a complex and contradictory environment for protection and enforcement of IPR. Welcome developments include repeated affirmation of the importance of intellectual property by China’s leadership, an ongoing intellectual property legal and regulatory reform effort, and encouraging developments in individual cases in China’s courts. At the same time, progress toward effective protection and enforcement of IPR in China is undermined by unchecked trade secret theft, market access obstacles to ICT products raised in the name of security, measures favoring domestically owned intellectual property in the name of promoting innovation in China, rampant piracy and counterfeiting in China’s massive online and physical markets, extensive use of unlicensed software, and the supply of counterfeit goods to foreign markets. Additional challenges arise in the form of obstacles that restrict foreign firms’ ability to fully participate in standards setting, the unnecessary introduction of inapposite competition concepts into intellectual property laws, and acute challenges in protecting and incentivizing the creation of pharmaceutical inventions and test data. As a result, surveys continue to show that the uncertain intellectual property environment is a leading concern for businesses operating in China, as intellectual property infringements are difficult to prevent and remediate, and may cause businesses to choose not to invest in China or offer their technology, goods, or services there. As the USTR reports indicate, China’s IPR-related policies and practices cause particular concern for the United States and U.S. stakeholders across a wide variety of areas, including, but not limited to trade secrets, ICT policies, technology transfer requirements and incentives, widespread piracy and counterfeiting in China’s e-commerce markets, software legalization, counterfeit goods, technical standards involving IPR, anti-monopoly law enforcement, and IPR protection for pharmaceutical innovations. At the same time there have been some positive developments. In the context of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s September 2015 visit to Washington, D.C., the United States and China made a seires of cyber commitments, including that neither state would engage in the cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property for commercial gain. Since that commitment, we have seen SECTION 4 133
Page 1:
U.S. JOINT STRATEGIC PLAN ON INTELL
Page 6 and 7:
B. In Furtherance of a Healthy Doma
Page 9:
PREAMBLE A Reflection on Creativity
Page 12 and 13:
Senior Advisory Committee Establish
Page 14 and 15:
INTRODUCTION IP-intensive industrie
Page 16 and 17:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Services, the Dep
Page 18 and 19:
While seeking to be thorough, the S
Page 20 and 21:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Advertising B
Page 23 and 24:
1 THE GLOBAL SCALE OF INTELLECTUAL
Page 25 and 26:
INTRODUCTION The story of intellect
Page 27 and 28:
Office of the Intellectual Property
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
« Office of the Intellectual Prope
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65:
Page 68 and 69:
SECTION 2 CONTENTS HELPING TO PROMO
Page 70 and 71:
Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectua
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91: Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectua
Page 99 and 100: 3 SECURE AND FACILITATE LEGITIMATE
Page 101 and 102: INTRODUCTION U.S. and international
Page 103 and 104: Office of the Intellectual Property
Page 121 and 122: ENDNOTES Office of the Intellectual
Page 125: Office of the Intellectual Property
Page 128 and 129: SECTION 4 CONTENTS PROMOTE FRAMEWOR
Page 162 and 163: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With thanks to, an
show all

ENFORCEMENT

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?