[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 140 (Monday, July 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42378-42379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16636]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Taiwan: 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 trading partners 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 trading partners should be identified as Priority Foreign 
Countries. Acts, policies or practices that are the basis of a trading 
partner'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 25, 2008, USTR announced the results of the 2008 Special 
301 Review and stated that an Out-of-Cycle Review of Taiwan would be 
conducted this year. Pursuant to this Out-of-Cycle Review, USTR 
requests written submissions from the public concerning acts, policies, 
and practices regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual 
property protection and enforcement in Taiwan.

DATES: Submissions must be received on or before 10 a.m. on Monday, 
September 8, 2008.

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 ``Taiwan Out-of-Cycle Review'' in the subject line, or 
(ii) by fax, to (202) 395-9458, with a confirmation copy sent 
electronically to the email 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 trading partners 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 trading partners 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 trading 
partner'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 trading partner 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 25, 2008, USTR announced the results of the 2008 Special 
301 Review and stated that an Out-of-Cycle Review of Taiwan would be 
conducted this year. Pursuant to this Out-of-Cycle Review, USTR 
requests written submissions from the public concerning acts, policies, 
and practices regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual 
property protection and enforcement in Taiwan.
    Requirements for comments: Comments should include a description of 
experiences with respect to Taiwan in the field of intellectual 
property rights and the effect of the acts, policies, and practices of 
Taiwan 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 Taiwan. 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, Adobe, or Text files. Supporting documentation 
submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files. 
All comments and supporting documentation received 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, 
September 8, 2008.
    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 ``Taiwan Out-of-
Cycle Review'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to (202) 395-

[[Page 42379]]

9458, with a confirmation copy sent electronically to the email 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.

Stanford K. McCoy,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and 
Innovation.
[FR Doc. E8-16636 Filed 7-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W8-P