[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3170-3171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1022]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Special Provincial Review of Intellectual Property Rights 
Protection in China: Request for Further Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.

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SUMMARY: On June 16, 2006, USTR requested public comments concerning 
the locations and issues that should be the focus of a special 
provincial review (SPR) of intellectual property rights protection in 
China. In preparation for concluding this review, USTR now requests 
written comments from the public concerning the adequacy and 
effectiveness of IPR protection and enforcement at the provincial level 
in China.

DATES: Submissions must be received on or before 5 p.m. on Monday, 
February 26, 2007.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Sybia Harrison, Special 
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, and sent (i) electronically, to 
the following e-mail address: [email protected], with ``China Special 
Provincial Review'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to (202) 395-
9458, with a confirmation copy sent electronically to the e-mail 
address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanford K. McCoy, Office of 
Intellectual Property, at (202) 395-4510.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 28, 2006, USTR released its annual 
Special 301 report pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (enacted in 1994). In that report, USTR 
announced that the United States would conduct a special provincial 
review in the coming year to examine the adequacy and effectiveness of 
China's IPR protection and enforcement at the provincial level. The 
goal of this review is to spotlight strengths, weaknesses, and 
inconsistencies in and among specific jurisdictions, and to inform the 
Special 301 review of China as a whole.
    On June 16, 2006, USTR requested initial public comments concerning 
the provinces and other provincial-level jurisdictions and issues that 
should be the focus of a special provincial review (SPR) of 
intellectual property rights protection in China. For purposes of this 
review, jurisdictions at the provincial level might include, in 
addition to China's provinces (sheng), the four municipalities (shi) of 
Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, as well as China's five 
autonomous regions (zizhiqu).
    Locations and Issues: Based on the comments received, USTR 
concluded that locations of particular interest for U.S. right holders 
include Beijing City, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, Jiangsu 
Province, Shanghai City, and Zhejiang Province. USTR concluded that 
issues of particular interest involve local enforcement of IPR, 
including trademarks and copyrights.
    Request for Further Comments: In the June 16 request for comments, 
USTR indicated that it would seek more detailed public comments before 
concluding the SPR. USTR now requests comments from the public 
concerning the adequacy and effectiveness of IPR protection and 
enforcement at the provincial level in China. USTR encourages 
submitters to give particular attention to the locations and issues 
identified above. However, USTR will accept information on other 
locations and issues.
    Submitters should bear in mind that the goals of the SPR include 
highlighting strengths, as well as weaknesses and inconsistencies, in 
and among specific jurisdictions. Strengths could include, for example, 
taking ex officio action on behalf of, and providing fair treatment 
for, foreign right holders, or local measures that facilitate IPR 
enforcement.
    Requirements for Comments: Comments should respond to the request 
in this notice.
    Comments must be in English. No submissions will be accepted via 
postal service mail. Documents should be submitted as WordPerfect, MS 
Word, PDF, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as 
spreadsheets is acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files. A submitter 
requesting that information contained in a comment be treated as 
confidential business information must certify that

[[Page 3171]]

such information is business confidential and would not customarily be 
released to the public by the submitter. A non-confidential version of 
the comment must also be provided. For any document containing business 
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential 
version should begin with the characters ``BC-'', and the file name of 
the public version should begin with the character ``P-''. The ``P-'' 
or ``BC-'' should be followed by the name of the submitter. Submissions 
should not include separate cover letters; information that might 
appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself. 
To the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be 
included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate 
files.
    All comments should be addressed to Sybia Harrison, Special 
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, and sent (i) electronically, to 
the following e-mail address: [email protected], with ``China Special 
Provincial Review'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to (202) 395-
9458, with a confirmation copy sent electronically to the e-mail 
address above.
    Public Inspection of Submissions: Within one business day of 
receipt, non-confidential submissions will be placed in a public file, 
open for inspection at the USTR reading room, Office of the United 
States Trade Representative, Annex Building, 1724 F Street, NW., Room 
1, Washington, DC. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled 
at least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling Jacqueline 
Caldwell at (202) 395-6186. The USTR reading room is open to the public 
from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.

Victoria A. Espinel,
Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation.
 [FR Doc. E7-1022 Filed 1-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P