Joint Special 301 Comment by Professors Michael Birnhack, Peter Jaszi, David Levine, Srividhya Ragavan, and Lea Shaver; and civil society organizations Public Knowledge and the Karisma Foundation.
The first part of this submission calls on USTR to adopt two interpretive principles in implementing the Special 301 statute. USTR should give proportional consideration to appropriate limitations and exceptions in evaluating foreign intellectual property systems, including by mentioning positive examples of limitations and exceptions in its “best practices” and “positive developments” identifications, and by listing countries on watch lists for egregious cases where a lack of limitations and exceptions stands as a barrier to US trade.
The second part of the submission urges USTR to expressly abandon any intent to list a World Trade Organization member on Special 301’s priority foreign country list as an action that would violate either the WTO’s dispute settlement understanding or GSP enabling clause.
Sean Flynn, American University Washington College of Law, requests to testify at the Special 301 hearing.
