Much of the news covering last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference discussed the TPP, RCEP and FTAAP, but there was also work to establish new intellectual property norms.
The main outcomes reported by the Chair include an agreement among the trade Ministers “to foster cooperation in intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement, and raise SMEs awareness of IP commercialization. They encouraged the completion of the APEC Best Practices in Trade Secrets Protection and Enforcement on the basis of consensus at the earliest possible time.”
According to a USTR press release, the Best Practices include “Broad standing to claims for the protection of trade secrets and enforcement against trade secret theft; Civil and criminal liability, as well as remedies and penalties, for trade secret theft; Robust procedural measures in enforcement proceedings; and Adoption of written measures that enhance protection against further disclosure when governments require the submission of trade secrets.”
The full document, Best Practices in Trade Secret Protection and Enforcement Against Misappropriation, is here.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said that his office will work with APEC countries “to raise standards for trade secret protection and enforcement, including the adoption of these best practices.” In the 2016 Special 301 Report, USTR singled out China, India and Taiwan as lacking adequate trade secret protection.
