The White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) has issued a request for comments to inform the drafting of the next Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. The notice “invites public input and participation in shaping the Federal Government’s intellectual property enforcement strategy for 2016–2019.” The Federal Register notice is here, and IP Czar Danny Marti’s post about it is here. Comments are due October 16, 2015.
The Joint Strategic Plan sets goals for numerous agencies which work on intellectual property matters, which IPEC is tasked with coordinating. These are the Departments of Commerce, Health & Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, and State, as well as the U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Trade Representative.
The most recent (2013) Joint Strategic Statement set 25 goals which can be roughly summarized as:
- ‘leading by example’ by ridding itself of infringing products in its supply chain and using only licensed software.
- improving transparency and public outreach
- ensuring ‘efficiency and coordination’ among the various government offices
- enforcing rights abroad – through multilateral organizations, trade policy, and unilateral measures
increasing border security and actions against online selling of infringing products - reviewing legal landscape to identify areas for improvement, and seeking empirical data to drive policy making