IP Enforcement Roundup

USTR Staff Meets with Civil Society on Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines

On August 10, USTR staff met civil society actors to discuss the intellectual property and pharmaceutical provisions in the Trans Pacific Partnership.  Assistant US Trade Representative Stan McCoy said that USTR’s broad goals in the negotiation are economic integration among diverse trading partners, and raising U.S. exports (including exports from branded and generic drug firms).  USTR wants to increase access to medicines, and strong IP will “stabilize expectations” about when generic entry can occur.  McCoy used the word “access” to mean the entrance of a product onto the market, and drew a distinction between “access” and “pricing.”  Click here for more.

U.S. Government Seeks Comments on Strategy to Eliminate Counterfeits in the U.S. Government Supply Chain

An interagency Working Group comprised of staff from the Office of the IP Enforcement Coordinator, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Defense, NASA, and the General Services Administration has been formed to “eliminate counterfeit products from the U.S. Government supply chain.”  It recently issued a Federal Register Notice listing its six core obectives, and requesting comments from the public on how to meet them. The objectives include determining whether the government needs to develop additional regulatory actions or increase measures needed to prosecute offenders.  Comments are due September 16.  Click here for more.

Judge Denies Motion to Release Domain Names Seized in Operation In Our Sites

A federal judge has denied the Spanish company Puerto 80’s motion to release the domains rojadirectica.com and rojadirectica.org, seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through Operation In Our Sites.  The seized websites included links to third party websites which illegally streamed copyrighted sports events.  Judge Paul Crotty held that the seizures do not cause “substantial hardship” sufficient to justify releasing the domains, despite a 32% reduction in traffic.  Puerto 80 has moved the sites to other domains, and he stated that the company has the ability to “simply distribute information about the seizure and its new domain names to its customers.”  Judge Crotty also rejected first amendment arguments put forward by Puerto 80. Click here for more.

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