[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 172 (Thursday, September 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51266-51267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4335]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Brazil, the Czech Republic, 
and Pakistan: Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.

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SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 
2242), requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to 
identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of 
intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access 
to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. (Section 
182 is commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions of the 
Trade Act.) In addition, the USTR is required to determine which of 
these countries should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. 
Acts, policies or practices that are the basis of a country's 
identification as a Priority Foreign Country are normally the subject 
of an investigation under the section 301 provisions of the Trade Act.
    On April 27, 2007, USTR announced the results of the 2007 Special 
301 Review and stated that Out-of-Cycle Reviews of Brazil, the Czech 
Republic, and Pakistan would be conducted this year. Pursuant to these 
Out-of-Cycle Reviews, USTR requests written submissions from the public 
concerning acts, policies, and practices regarding the adequacy and 
effectiveness of intellectual property protection and enforcement in 
Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan.

DATES: Submissions must be received on or before 10 a.m. on Monday, 
October 15, 2007.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Jennifer Choe Groves, 
Director for Intellectual Property and Innovation and Chair of the 
Special 301 Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, and sent (i) Electronically, to [email protected] 
(please note, ``FR0606'' consists of the numbers ``zero-six-zero-
six,'') with ``Brazil, Czech Republic, Pakistan Out-of-Cycle 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: Jennifer Choe Groves, Director for 
Intellectual Property and Innovation and Chair of the Special 301 
Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative at (202) 
395-4510.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 182 of the Trade Act, 
USTR must identify those countries that deny adequate and effective 
protection for intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable 
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property 
protection. Those countries that have the most onerous or egregious 
acts, policies, or practices and whose acts, policies or practices have 
the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on relevant U.S. 
products are to be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, 
policies or practices that are the basis of a country's designation as 
a Priority Foreign Country are normally the subject of an investigation 
under the section 301 provisions of the Trade Act.
    USTR may not identify a country as a Priority Foreign Country if it 
is entering into good faith negotiations, or making significant 
progress in bilateral or multilateral negotiations, to provide adequate 
and effective protection of intellectual property rights.
    On April 27, 2007, USTR announced the results of the 2007 Special 
301 Review and stated that Out-of-Cycle Review of Brazil, the Czech 
Republic, and Pakistan would be conducted this year. Pursuant to these 
Out-of-Cycle Reviews, USTR requests written submissions from the public 
concerning acts, policies, and practices regarding the adequacy and 
effectiveness of intellectual property protection and enforcement in 
Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan.
    Requirements for comments: Comments should include a description of 
experiences with respect to Brazil,

[[Page 51267]]

the Czech Republic, or Pakistan in the field of intellectual property 
rights and the effect of the acts, policies, and practices of Brazil, 
the Czech Republic, or Pakistan on U.S. industry. Comments should be as 
detailed as possible and should provide all necessary information for 
assessing the effect of any acts, policies, and practices of Brazil, 
the Czech Republic, or Pakistan. Any comments that include quantitative 
loss claims should be accompanied by the methodology used in 
calculating such estimated losses.
    Comments must be in English. No submissions will be accepted via 
postal service mail. Documents should be submitted as either 
WordPerfect, MS Word, .pdf, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting 
documentation submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro 
or Excel files. All comments and supporting documentation by USTR will 
be made available to the public through electronic or other means. A 
submitter requesting that information contained in a comment be treated 
as confidential business information must certify that 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.
    DATES:
    Submissions must be received on or before 10 a.m. on Monday, 
October 15, 2007.
    All comments should be addressed to Jennifer Choe Groves, Director 
for Intellectual Property and Innovation and Chair of the Special 301 
Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative, and sent 
(i) Electronically, to [email protected] (please note, ``FR0606'' 
consists of the numbers ``zero-six-zero-six,'' with ``Brazil, Czech 
Republic, Pakistan Out-of-Cycle 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: (1) 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 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Christopher S. Wilson,
Acting Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 07-4335 Filed 9-5-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-M