[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 130 (Thursday, July 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41639-41641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17030]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

RIN 0651-ABXX


Notice of Intellectual Property Symposium of the Americas: 
Protecting Intellectual Property in the Digital Age

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is 
announcing that it will hold a two-day symposium on the enforcement of 
intellectual property in the Western Hemisphere. The symposium is 
expected to provide an opportunity for high-ranking government 
intellectual property officials and members of the business and 
intellectual property communities in the Western Hemisphere to discuss 
and formulate an agenda for cooperation in the critical area of 
intellectual property enforcement. Particular attention during the 
symposium will be paid to the Internet, Optical Media Piracy, and 
Business Software and Business Methods Patent enforcement issues, and 
to developing a basis for closer Hemispheric coordination in the 
enforcement of intellectual property rights generally.

DATES: The symposium will be held on Monday, September 11, 2000, and 
Tuesday, September 12, 2000, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 
approximately 5:30 p.m. each day. Due to security concerns, attendance 
at the symposium will be limited to 150 people. Requests to attend the 
symposium must be made in writing no later than July 31, 2000, and must 
comply with the requirements set forth in this notice. Because seating 
is limited, only one request to participate per firm, agency or 
organization will be granted. For purposes of determining eligibility, 
affiliates and subsidiaries in different countries will be considered 
separate organizations.

ADDRESSES: The symposium will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City 
Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. 
Directions to the symposium location will be available inside the lobby 
of the Sheraton Crystal City.
    Requests to attend the symposium should be made to Doris Long by 
electronic mail to [email protected], by facsimile transmission marked to 
the attention of Doris Long at (877) 786-4220, or by mail marked to the 
attention of Doris Long and addressed to the Office of Legislative and 
International Affairs, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Box 
4, Washington, DC 20231. Symposium attendees will be accepted as their 
requests are received on a first-come, first-serve basis according to 
the time and date of receipt of each request, and subject to the 
restrictions that: (1) Only written requests will be accepted; (2) only 
one request (one person) per company, firm, agency or organization will 
be accepted (for purposes of determining eligibility, affiliates and 
subsidiaries in different countries will be considered separate 
organizations); (3) only requests which contain the information set 
forth below under ``Further Registration Information'' will be 
accepted; and (4) only requests received on or before July 31, 2000, 
will be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Long by telephone at (877) 786-
4220; by electronic mail to [email protected]; by fax at (877) 786-4220; 
or by mail marked to her attention and addressed to the Office of 
Legislative and International Affairs, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, Box 4, Washington, DC 20231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    Over the past several decades, the global economy has undergone a 
fundamental change, where the principal engine of economic growth and 
job creation is not based on raw natural resources, but on the use of 
knowledge, ideas and innovation. From the Internet and E-commerce, to

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computer software and technology, countries increasingly rely on 
knowledge-based products and services to fuel their economic and 
technological growth. Intellectual property protection forms an 
integral part of any knowledge-based economy, since intellectual 
property laws traditionally serve as a source of protection for 
knowledge, ideas and innovation. At the same time, the rights of 
intellectual property owners are being increasingly threatened by the 
widespread use of the Internet and other digital technologies in 
facilitating global piracy.
    As of January 1, 2000, most countries in the Western Hemisphere are 
obligated to have domestic laws and enforcement mechanisms that comply 
with the international standards set forth under the Agreement on 
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In order 
to assure continuing growth for the countries of the Western 
Hemisphere, enforcement mechanisms must be designed to take into 
account the needs and issues of a knowledge-based economy and be built 
on traditional methodologies for enforcement of intellectual property 
rights against infringing physical goods and services. At the same time 
such mechanisms must be designed to combat the increasing use of the 
Internet and other digital technologies in the development and 
distribution of pirated and counterfeit goods.
    In light of the Hemispheric importance of effective intellectual 
property enforcement programs capable of dealing with the challenges 
posed by digital piracy, this symposium will feature structured 
dialogues and round-table discussions regarding cutting edge 
intellectual property enforcement policy issues. These discussions will 
occur between high-level government officials from every country in the 
Western Hemisphere with which the United States maintains diplomatic 
relations.
    The goals of the symposium are:
    A. To assist government officials from the Western Hemisphere in 
developing effective enforcement systems based on an interdisciplinary 
approach in which civil, criminal, administrative, and border (customs) 
measures work together and separately to aid in protecting and 
enforcing intellectual property rights in the Digital Age.
    B. To strengthen regional cooperation for the improvement of the 
enforcement of intellectual property rights in order to meet 
international treaty obligations, including those under TRIPS.
    C. To provide Western Hemisphere countries with a detailed review 
of the emerging intellectual property treaty regimes of the Digital 
Age. Included among the topics would be the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the 
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and the enforcement 
requirements of TRIPS and NAFTA.
    D. To discuss ways to generally improve the enforcement of 
intellectual property rights throughout the Hemisphere.

2. Draft Agenda

    A draft agenda for the symposium is set forth below:

Intellectual Property Symposium of The Americas: Protecting 
Intellectual Property in The Digital Age

Monday, September 11

Plenary Round Table I
    E-Commerce and Other Strategies For Turning Intellectual Property 
Protection into Investment Opportunities.
Break Out Round Table A
    Intellectual Property Rights and the Internet: Digital Distribution 
and the Technological Threat to Intellectual Property.
Break Out Round Table B
    Establishing a Workable Enforcement System under TRIPS: Practical 
Problems and Potential Solutions.
Break Out Round Table C
    Adapting ``Hard'' Goods Enforcement Techniques to Cyberspace.
Break Out Round Table D
    Legal and Technological Obstacles to Protecting Intellectual 
Property in the Digital Age: Practical Problems and Realistic Solution.
Break Out Round Table E
    Prevention v. Cure: Creating Effective Educational and Public 
Awareness Enforcement Campaigns.
Break Out Round Table F
    Creating an Effective Enforcement Program With Limited Resources: 
Some Models for Facilitating Information and Resource Sharing.
Break Out Round Table G
    Resolving Domain Name Problems in Cyberspace.
Break Out Round Table H
    Copyright and the WIPO Treaties: Protecting Content on the 
Internet.

Tuesday, September 12

Plenary Round Table II
    Technology Transfers, Business Method Patents and the Pitfalls of 
Licensing.
Break Out Round Table J
    Creating an Effective Enforcement Program for New Technologies: 
Protecting Trade Secrets and Technology Patents.
Break Out Round Table K
    Trademark Counterfeiting and the Net: Enforcing Rights on the 
Internet Frontier.
Plenary Round Table III
    Future Issues in Intellectual Property Enforcement: Technology 
Patents and Confidential Information.
Plenary Round Table IV
    An Action Plan for the Future: A Dialogue Among the Participants on 
Future Problems and Solutions.

3. Further Registration Information

    This symposium, and all program-related materials, are offered free 
of charge. As noted above, due to security concerns, admission to the 
symposium will be limited to 150 participants who are pre-registered 
and whose registration has been accepted in accordance with the 
following guidelines:
    1. Requests to attend the symposium should be made to Doris Long by 
electronic mail to [email protected], by facsimile transmission marked to 
the attention of Doris Long at (877) 786-4220, or by mail marked to the 
attention of Doris Long and addressed to the Office of Legislative and 
International Affairs, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Box 
4, Washington, DC 20231.
    2. All requests to attend must be in writing and must contain the 
following information:
    A. Name;
    B. Company/ Firm/Agency or Organization Affiliation (if any);
    C. Mailing Address;
    D. Facsimile, or Email Address where notification of acceptance of 
registration can be sent.
    3. Symposium attendees will be accepted as their requests are 
received on a first-come, first-serve basis according to the time and 
date of receipt of each request. To be considered ``received,'' a 
request to attend must contain all of the information required in this 
section; and must be received on or before the July 3, 2000, 
application deadline.
    4. Only one request (one person) per company, firm, agency or 
organization will be accepted. For purposes of determining eligibility, 
affiliates and subsidiaries in different countries will be considered 
separate organizations.

[[Page 41641]]

    5. It would be helpful for purposes of determining space needs, but 
is not required, if the applicant would also indicate which Break Out 
sessions he or she intends to attend. For convenience, a registration 
form has been placed on the USPTO web-site at www.uspto.gov.

    Dated: June 29, 2000.
Q. Todd Dickinson,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 00-17030 Filed 7-5-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P