[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 101 (Thursday, May 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33872-33874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10770]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2023-0006]
Future Strategies in Anticounterfeiting and Antipiracy
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public roundtable and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is
working across government and with the private sector to address
counterfeiting and piracy. As part of that effort, the USPTO wants to
learn what interested parties are observing and seeks their insights
into anticounterfeiting and antipiracy strategies. In particular, the
USPTO requests information on current anticounterfeiting and antipiracy
strategies that have proven effective, as well as ideas for future
strategies. To facilitate discussion among members of the public
regarding the future of anticounterfeiting and antipiracy, the USPTO
will host a roundtable on the topics listed in this notice on October
3. Any additional roundtables will be announced through the Federal
Register.
DATES: Comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 23, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and responses to the questions below
by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov (at the homepage,
enter ``PTO-C-2023-0006'' in the ``Search''' box, click the ``Comment
Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your
comments). The materials in the docket will not be edited to remove
identifying or contact information, and the USPTO cautions against
including any information in an electronic submission that the
submitter does not want publicly disclosed. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted only in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or
Adobe PDF formats. Comments containing references to studies, research,
and other empirical data that are not widely published should include
copies of the referenced materials. Please do not submit additional
materials. If you want to submit a comment with confidential business
information that you do not wish to be made public, please submit the
comment as a written/paper submission in the manner detailed below.
(2) Written/Paper Submissions: Send all written/paper submissions
to: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop OPIA, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22314. Submission packaging should clearly
indicate that materials are responsive to Docket No. PTO-C-2023-0006,
Office of Policy and International Affairs, Comment Request; Future
Strategies in Anticounterfeiting and Antipiracy.
Submissions of Confidential Business Information: Any submissions
containing confidential business information must be delivered in a
sealed envelope marked ``confidential treatment requested'' to the
address listed above. Submitters should provide an index listing the
document(s) or information they would like the USPTO to withhold. The
index should include information such as numbers used to identify the
relevant document(s) or information, document title(s) and
description(s), and relevant page numbers and/or section numbers within
a document. Submitters should provide a statement explaining their
grounds for objecting to the disclosure of the information to the
public. The USPTO also requests that submitters of confidential
business information include a non-confidential version (either
redacted or summarized) of those confidential submissions that will be
available for public viewing and posted on www.regulations.gov. In the
event that the submitter cannot provide a non-confidential version of
its submission, the USPTO requests that the submitter post a notice in
the docket stating that it has provided the USPTO with confidential
business information. Should a submitter fail to docket a non-
confidential version of its submission or post a notice that
confidential business information has been provided, the
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USPTO will note the receipt of the submission on the docket with the
submitter's organization or name (to the degree permitted by law) and
the date of submission.
Instructions for and Information on the Public Roundtable Event
At least one roundtable event will be held at the USPTO, Madison
Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, and there will be an
option to attend virtually. The roundtable will begin at 10 a.m. and
end at 1 p.m. Registration for both in-person and virtual options is
available, along with the agenda, at www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/roundtable-future-strategies-anticounterfeiting-and-antipiracy.
Although the USPTO strongly encourages advance registration, attendees
may also register at the door one hour prior to the beginning of the
roundtable. The platform for attending virtually will be made available
at www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/roundtable-future-strategies-anticounterfeiting-and-antipiracy along with instructions for
attending.
The roundtable will be physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Individuals requiring accommodation, such as sign
language interpretation or other ancillary aids, should communicate
their needs at least seven business days prior to the roundtable to
Velica Dunn in the USPTO's Office of Policy and International Affairs
at 571-272-9300, at [email protected], or by postal mail addressed
to: Mail Stop OPIA, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22314-1450, ATTN: Velica Dunn. Attendees joining
in person should arrive at least a half hour prior to the start of the
roundtable and must present valid government-issued photo
identification upon arrival.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ameen Imam, USPTO, Office of Policy
and International Affairs, at 571-272-9300 or [email protected].
Please direct media inquiries to the USPTO's Office of the Chief
Communications Officer at 571-272-8400.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Counterfeited and pirated products are
readily available to U.S. consumers through all forms of commerce,
including physical markets, ecommerce, and social media sites. Many of
these counterfeited and pirated products endanger public health and
safety, as well as national security. The scope of counterfeited and
pirated products seeking entry into the U.S. market is significant. For
instance, in fiscal year (FY) 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
made over 27,000 seizures with an estimated manufacturer's suggested
retail price of over $3.3. billion, which represents an increase of
152% over the previous fiscal year. See U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, ``FY 2021 IPR [Intellectual Property Rights] Seizure
Statistics,'' available at www.cbp.gov/document/annual-report/fy-2021-ipr-seizure-statistics. The trade in counterfeited and pirated products
also negatively impacts American innovation and erodes the
competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and workers. For example, digital
video piracy conservatively causes lost domestic revenues of at least
$29.2 billion and as much as $71.0 billion annually. Furthermore,
digital video piracy not only causes lost revenues to the content
industry, but also ``results in losses to the U.S. economy of between
230,000 and 560,000 jobs and between $47.5 billion and $115.3 billion
in reduced gross domestic product (GDP) each year.'' See U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, ``Quick Take: Your Primer on Digital Piracy and Its Impact
on the U.S. Economy,'' available at www.uschamber.com/intellectual-property/quick-take-your-primer-digital-piracy-and-its-impact-the-us-economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided fertile ground for an increase
in the sale and distribution of counterfeited, especially those that
are health-related. For example, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
seized 35 million counterfeit face masks in FY 2021. It is estimated
that the trade in counterfeited and pirated goods has risen steadily in
recent years and stands at 3.3% of global trade. See Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development iLibrary, ``Trends in Trade in
Counterfeit and Pirated Goods,'' available at www.oecd-ilibrary.org/trade/trends-in-trade-in-counterfeit-and-pirated-goods_g2g9f533-en. The
USPTO has worked to address the issue of counterfeiting and piracy
through various efforts, including its Intellectual Property
Attach[eacute] Program, its public awareness programs, and technical
assistance provided to trade partners. Through these efforts, the USPTO
has observed that counterfeiters and those trading in counterfeited and
pirated goods continually evolve their methods to evade detection so
they can expand the flow of dangerous products. Rights holders, online
platforms, physical markets, and all other stakeholders in the stream
of commerce have also used evolving methods to combat the increasing
availability of counterfeited and pirated products made accessible
directly to consumers.
The USPTO seeks information from interested parties regarding their
observations and insights into the future of anticounterfeiting and
antipiracy strategies. In particular, the USPTO requests information
from consumers, intellectual property rights holders, online
marketplaces and platforms, physical marketplaces, parties who provide
goods to the public, consumers, and other private sector stakeholders
on the evolution of counterfeiting and piracy in recent years and ways
to identify and develop future anticounterfeiting and antipiracy
strategies.
Request for Information
The USPTO requests information from all interested parties,
including stakeholders, trademark and copyright owners affected by the
sale of counterfeited and pirated goods, online and physical sellers
and marketplaces, other online platforms, consumers, and other parties
engaged in the fight against counterfeited and pirated goods entering
the stream of commerce and reaching the hands of consumers.
Respondents may address any, all, or none of the following
questions. One should identify, where possible, the question(s) the
comments are intended to address. Respondents may organize their
submissions in any manner. Please note that respondents have the
opportunity to request that any information contained in a submission
be treated as confidential business information and must certify that
such information is confidential and would not customarily be released
to the public by the submitter. Confidential business information must
be clearly designated as such and provided only by mail carrier (Please
see the ADDRESSES section above).
The USPTO welcomes all input relevant to future strategies in the
fight to prevent counterfeited and pirated goods from entering the
stream of commerce and reaching the hands of consumers. In particular,
we seek the following information:
1. Please identify current anticounterfeiting and antipiracy
strategies and any trends you see in how often these practices are
guiding the public's plans for addressing these issues in the future.
2. Please identify the types of harms you have observed from sales
of counterfeited and pirated goods.
3. Please indicate how consumers are educated about the harms and
dangers that may result from the use and sale of counterfeited or
pirated products.
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4. Please describe current anticounterfeiting and antipiracy
strategies that may be available, identifying which elements have
proven successful and those that have not. Your answer should identify
the targets of anticounterfeiting and antipiracy efforts, such as
ecommerce platforms, physical markets, and social media.
5. Please identify the challenges you anticipate in the ongoing
fight to prevent counterfeited and pirated goods from entering the
stream of commerce and reaching the hands of consumers. Please add
information on how those challenges might be addressed.
6. What patterns and trends have you observed in counterfeiting and
piracy during the COVID-19 pandemic? Do you anticipate that these
patterns and trends will continue past the pandemic?
7. What patterns and trends have you observed in counterfeiting and
piracy due to shifts in the economy? Do you anticipate that these
patterns and trends will continue? And if so, what impact will they
have on any current and future strategic plans to combat counterfeiting
and piracy?
8. Please indicate whether any strategic plans to combat
counterfeiting and piracy might include collaboration with private or
public parties, and if a strategic plan is not collaborative, please
explain why not. If a strategic plan does include collaboration, please
describe the anticounterfeiting and antipiracy strategies employed in
the collaboration.
9. Are you considering new collaborative efforts to combat
counterfeiting and piracy? What factors will affect your decision? How
might those future collaborations be comprised?
10. Please identify effective technologies for use in the fight to
prevent counterfeited and pirated goods from entering the stream of
commerce and reaching the hands of consumers, such as counterfeited
product identification devices or advanced algorithms to secure supply
chains and identify counterfeited goods online. Please explain how any
anticipated strategies will improve an overall anticounterfeiting and
antipiracy strategy.
11. Please describe how online enforcement activities intersect
with trademark and copyright laws or procedures. Do online enforcement
strategies include employing existing trademark laws to combat online
counterfeiting? Do online enforcement strategies use existing copyright
laws to combat online piracy? If so, please describe in detail those
activities, and provide any suggestions for maximizing these practices.
12. Please describe any fraudulent documentation or materials you
have observed in the furtherance of online counterfeiting and piracy
activity. For example, after reporting infringements to platforms, have
you seen fraudulent materials attached to a counter-notification?
13. Please provide any data you have on counterfeiting and piracy,
including any data showing how the activities may adversely or
disproportionately affect certain industries or companies.
14. Please share your thoughts on what more the USPTO or government
and private parties can do to ensure entities, including under-
resourced individuals and small businesses, can readily enforce their
intellectual property rights against counterfeited or pirated goods.
What other solutions have you seen or can you envision?
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-10770 Filed 5-24-23; 8:45 am]
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