Archive for the ‘Intellectual property’ Category

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Shrinking the Atlantic and Improving Intellectual Property Protection

July 21, 2011

Cecilia Almeida is an intern at the International Trade Administration in the Office of Intellectual Property Rights. She is studying law at Loyola University in New Orleans. 

Last week, the Atlantic Ocean shrunk considerably for me as the U.S.-EU IPR Working Group met in Washington D.C. and I attended as an intern of the International Trade Administration (ITA).  The Working Group is co-chaired by ITA and the U.S. Trade Representative for the United States and by the Directorate General for Trade for the European Union.  The Working Group met with stakeholders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to discuss U.S and European joint efforts to improve intellectual property rights enforcement and protection in key third country markets. 

Representatives from a range of different industries as well as representatives from a number of consumer groups were present and able to participate in the discussions.  I was able to learn about intellectual property rights and the efforts undertaken by the U.S. and the EU, and to stop intellectual property infringement.  It was an invaluable experience.

The Atlantic continued to shrink even more so as this meeting was followed by a government to government meeting on Friday. At this meeting, both the United States and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to continued cooperation and discussed ways in which the U.S. and EU might further expand their joint activities.  I was happy to be a part of  these discussions to hear first hand information on the topic as it helped me expand my knowledge of a wide range of intellectual property rights issues.

In 2005, the United States and European Union came together and established the Intellectual Property Rights Working Group, which is composed of intellectual property rights officials representing lead agencies from both the United States and Europe. The Group was established to identify the areas for joint action particularly in third-country markets where the U.S. and EU share many of the same intellectual property concerns. 

To learn more about intellectual property rights protection and enforcement and the resources the U.S. Government has developed to aid U.S. rights holders, go to www.stopfakes.gov.

Posted in Intellectual property, International Trade Administration | Tagged , , | 5 Comments »

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The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) Gathers at Commerce to Discuss the Impact of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement on Consumers

April 30, 2010

(This post contains external links.  Please review our external linking policy.)

Michael Rogers has been with the International Trade Administration for 10 years.  He currently serves as a Senior International Trade Specialist in the Office of Intellectual Property Rights. 

On April 28, I played host to a meeting of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD).  TACD is a forum of U.S. and EU consumer organizations which advocate on behalf of consumers in both the United States and Europe.  Its membership includes 51 European organizations and 28 U.S. organizations.  Its U.S. members include such diverse groups as AARP, Knowledge Ecology International, Public Knowledge, and the American Civil Liberties Union. 

TACD members from both the United States and Europe gathered in the Department of Commerce’s main auditorium to discuss the impact the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) may have on consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.  ACTA is intended to assist in the efforts of governments around the world including the United States and the European Union and its 27 member states to more effectively enforce their intellectual property rights. This is important to help combat the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods, which undermines legitimate trade and the sustainable development of the world economy, and in some cases contributes to organized crime and exposes American and European families to dangerous fake products.  To learn more about ACTA and to read the draft text of the agreement, please visit the website of the U.S. Trade Representative at www.ustr.gov/acta.    

The timing of the TACD discussion was fortuitous because on April 21, the United States and other ACTA negotiating parties released a draft text of the agreement so that the public could review agreement.  The TACD event was the perfect opportunity for someone like me who works on ACTA and participates in the negotiations on behalf of ITA to listen to the views that TACD members have regarding the ACTA agreement.  I took a lot of notes on what the speakers had to say and plan to share them with my colleagues.

Posted in Intellectual property, Interagency | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

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Serving the U.S. Business Community in South Africa

October 5, 2009

Jed Diemond has been with the Market Access and Compliance (MAC) division of ITA for almost eight years.  He serves as the Senior International Economist covering the five Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. 

Last month I got to do the most interesting and fun part of my job: I staffed Stephen Jacobs, the acting assistant secretary for MAC, during his trip to Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa.  I worked very closely with the Senior Commercial Officer in South Africa, Craig Allen, and his staff on the trip.  Over an intense two days, we had a series of meetings with U.S. companies based in South Africa, South African business and trade promotion organizations, and South African government trade officials.  Our goal was to explore ways to expand the U.S.-South Africa trade and investment relationship.  Some of the themes of the meetings included cooperation on intellectual property rights protection and advancing trade and investment promotion cooperation in the context of a U.S.-SACU trade and investment dialogue that we are trying to jump-start. As the South Africa desk officer, I had the unique opportunity to work with Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobs to shape our message in the meetings and expand my own working relationships in South Africa, which allows me be more effective in my job.

Posted in Commercial Service, Intellectual property, International Trade Administration, Market Access and Compliance, Trade Missions | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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World IP Day

April 24, 2009

Andrea Cornwell is an International Trade Specialist with the Office of Intellectual Property Rights in the International Trade Administration’s Market Access & Compliance unit.

Intellectual property surrounds us almost constantly. And it’s not just McDonald’s trademark Golden Arches or Apple’s patented iPod technology or Miley Cyrus’ latest copyrighted album. For instance, I would bet that you create content protected by copyright nearly every day. Have you written an email today? Have you doodled on your notebook during a meeting or class this week? Have you snapped a family photo recently? If so, then you’re an author – an author with a copyrighted work.

The fact that intellectual property rights (IPR) exist in so many facets of our daily lives just goes to show that our Founding Fathers were right – provide people with legal protection for their inventions and creative works, and technology will advance, knowledge will spread, and societies will progress. Did you know that our Constitution authorizes Congress to protect inventors’ and authors’ creative works? Or, that our current trademark law preserves a long American heritage of 120-plus years of protection for our entrepreneurs’ trade names, logos, and the like?

In fact, IPR is so essential to continued global development and trade that each year we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on April 26th. This year, World IP Day focuses on Green Innovation and the important role of IPR in promoting the advancement and diffusion of increasingly critical technologies for the mitigation of climate change. This coincides nicely with widespread celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd, and provides us with an opportunity to proudly say that, as global environmental needs evolve, our American entrepreneurs are developing new means for addressing them. According to the House Small Business Committee, the renewable and efficiency industries, comprised of more than 90% small firms, created 8 million new jobs in 2006. The

U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that by 2038, the American green tech industry’s development could add another 4.2 million jobs to the economy.

 So, you see, the fundamental IPR principle established so many years ago still rings true today – IPR protection is essential to encouraging innovation and competitiveness. This is particularly relevant to the growing green tech industry, as both U.S. industry and our global community stand to see great benefits from new technologies and methods for addressing climate change. As Francis Gurry, Director General of the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization, recently said, “The power of human ingenuity is our best hope for restoring the delicate balance between ourselves and our environment.” This World IP Day, the International Trade Administration welcomes the celebration of Green Innovation and our green technology industry.

 For more information on IPR and ITA’s activities related to IPR, please visit StopFakes.gov.

Posted in Intellectual property, Market Access and Compliance | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

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