[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46522-46523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19863]
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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Request of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
for Public Comments: Development of the Joint Strategic Plan on
Intellectual Property Enforcement
AGENCY: Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement
Coordinator, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management
and Budget.
ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Government is starting the process to develop a
new 3-year Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement.
By committing to common goals, the U.S. Government will more
effectively and efficiently promote and protect our intellectual
property. In this request for comments, the Executive Office of the
President (``EOP''), Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property
Enforcement Coordinator invites public input and participation in
shaping the Administration's intellectual property enforcement
strategy.
The Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement
Coordinator (``IPEC'') is charged with developing, with certain Federal
departments and agencies, the Administration's Joint Strategic Plan on
Intellectual Property Enforcement for submission to Congress every
three years. The previous 3-year Joint Strategic Plans were issued in
2010, 2013, and 2016. To assist IPEC and Federal agencies in our
preparation of the fourth 3-year plan, IPEC requests input and
recommendations from the public for improving the U.S. Government's
intellectual property enforcement efforts, along the lines of this
Administration's four-part strategic approach, described in greater
detail below.
DATES: Submissions must be received on or before November 13, 2018, at
5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: All submissions should be electronically submitted to http://www.regulations.gov. If you are unable to provide submissions to
regulations.gov, you may contact the Office of the U.S. Intellectual
Property
[[Page 46523]]
Enforcement Coordinator at [email protected] using the
subject line ``Development of the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual
Property Enforcement'' to arrange for an alternate method of
transmission. The regulations.gov website is a Federal E-Government
website that allows the public to find, review and submit comments on
documents that have published in the Federal Register and that are open
for comment. Submissions filed via the regulations.gov website will be
available to the public for review and inspection. For this reason,
please do not include in your comments information of a confidential
nature, such as sensitive personal information or proprietary business
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Levock, 202-395-3826, Office of
the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since January 2017, President Trump and his
Administration have worked to promote strong intellectual property
rights protection and enforcement, both domestically and abroad. As
part of an integrated approach, the Trump Administration views our
intellectual property strategy, policy and enforcement efforts,
together, as key to helping secure the future of our innovative economy
and to maintaining our competitive advantage. As the Administration
continues to build on past strategic efforts in all areas of
intellectual property policy (including patents, copyrights, trademarks
and trade secrets), both domestically and abroad, the Administration
also recognizes that for the United States to maintain its future
economic competitiveness, we need to think strategically and shift the
paradigm to one where we not only place America First, but regard
America's inventive and creative capacity as something that we must
protect, promote and prioritize.
As explained in the Annual Intellectual Property Report to Congress
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2018Annual_IPEC_Report_to_Congress.pdf), the Trump Administration has
taken significant actions to promote and protect intellectual property.
The Administration's four-part strategic approach includes engagement
with our trading partners; effective use of all our legal authorities,
including our trade tools; expanded law enforcement action and
cooperation; and engagement and partnership with the private sector and
other stakeholders. The goal is to ensure a level playing field for
American innovators and creators, where their innovations and creations
are respected and protected, and for systems to be in place that allow
American businesses to operate in a free, fair and open marketplace.
As the United States government works to advance American economic
interests overseas, a significant component of our enforcement and
protection efforts includes addressing trade enforcement, market
access, competition, digital trade, cybersecurity, and rule of law
concerns in the intellectual property space around the world. American
innovators and creators must be able to operate in foreign markets that
provide them with clear paths to secure and use their IP. Countries and
foreign companies should not be allowed to profit from the theft or
misappropriation of American intellectual property through actions
including trade secret theft, IP infringement, piracy, forced
technology transfers or localization requirements. Additionally,
American brand holders must have full and fair opportunity to market
and sell their products and use their properly registered trademarks
across the globe, without undue restrictions.
To that end, and as set forth by the PRO IP Act (15 U.S.C. 8113),
the objectives of the Joint Strategic Plan include:
Reducing the supply of infringing goods, domestically and
internationally;
Identifying weaknesses, duplication of efforts, waste, and
other unjustified impediments to effective enforcement actions;
Promoting information sharing between participating
agencies to the extent permissible by law;
Disrupting and eliminating infringement networks in the
U.S. and in other countries;
Strengthening the capacity of other countries to protect
and enforce intellectual property rights;
Reducing the number of countries that fail to enforce
intellectual property rights effectively;
Assisting other countries to more effectively enforce
intellectual property rights;
Protecting intellectual property rights in other countries
by:
[cir] Working with other countries to reduce intellectual property
crimes in other countries;
[cir] Improving information sharing between U.S. and foreign law
enforcement agencies; and
[cir] Establishing procedures for consulting with interested groups
within other countries;
Establishing effective and efficient training programs and
other forms of technical assistance to enhance the enforcement efforts
of foreign governments through:
[cir] Minimizing the duplication of U.S. Government training and
assistance efforts;
[cir] Prioritizing deployment of U.S. Government resources to those
countries where programs can be carried out most effectively with the
greatest impact on reducing the number of infringing products imported
into the United States, while also protecting the intellectual property
rights of U.S. rights holders and the interests of U.S. persons
otherwise harmed by infringements in other countries.
IPEC welcomes input and recommendations from the public for
improving the U.S. Government's intellectual property enforcement
efforts.
In submitting comments for the development of the fourth Joint
Strategic Plan, comments should be organized along the lines of the
Administration's four-part strategic approach to promote and protect
intellectual property (as discussed above and in IPEC's Annual
Intellectual Property Report to Congress):
Engagement with our trading partners
Effective use of all our legal authorities, including our
trade tools
Expanded law enforcement action and cooperation
Engagement and partnership with the private sector and other
stakeholders.
Vishal J. Amin,
United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Executive
Office of the President.
[FR Doc. 2018-19863 Filed 9-12-18; 8:45 am]
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