Posts Tagged ‘Intellectual property’

h1

World Trade Month: Honoring the Role of Intellectual Property in Sports

May 20, 2019

Jessica Pomper is an International Trade Specialist in the Office of Intellectual Property Rights at the International Trade Administration

Regardless of whether you love or hate the New England Patriots, I’m sure you saw Tom Brady’s jersey everywhere the days leading up to and immediately following the Super Bowl. But how sure are you that it was a real jersey? Do you know what it means for the jersey to be authentic? That’s where intellectual property (IP) comes in to play. Our office covers intellectual property rights across international trade, and this month we are celebrating World Trade Month. IP plays a large role in international trade, as goods need to be protected across borders. On April 26, people across the globe celebrated World IP Day. This year’s theme was sports and IP, as the two share a close relationship. One topic that shows the close relationship between the two is counterfeit sporting goods. Our STOPfakes website is dedicated to the protection of IP across the globe, and even features a consumer guide to counterfeit and pirated goods.soccer field

Now let’s delve deeper into the role of IP, and take a closer look at the details on a Super Bowl LIII Tom Brady jersey…

At the top, we have the collar. One of the hardest things to fake — and fake well —  is the NFL shield. The new National Football League (NFL) Nike jerseys have a rubberized NFL shield sewn into the center of the collar. If the NFL shield is embroidered or ironed on, you have a fake. On either shoulder is Brady’s number (12), screen printed below the border of the collar. If the number is embroidered or if it does not match the team’s font and colors, you have a fake. And these aren’t the only signifiers; there are dozens of details on sports jerseys that help distinguish between fakes and the real deal.

What exactly makes one jersey authentic and the other infringing? Each of the involved parties owns the IP displayed on the jersey. The NFL logo is a trademark owned by the NFL and is licensed to companies for use in products. The NFL is the licensor and Nike is the licensee, meaning Nike is officially and legally allowed to use the official NFL logo for this jersey. The NFL also owns trademarks for the word “Super Bowl,” and any logos used for the Super Bowl; the NFL licensed this logo for use by licensee Nike.

The New England Patriots own trademarks to their name, logo, slogan, and other elements that identify the Patriots brand. The New England Patriots are also the licensor in this case, licensing use of its name and logo to Nike for the jersey’s creation. As the creator of the product, Nike is free to use its own trademarked swoosh logo throughout the jersey’s design.

Now that we understand that IP is at play, why does it matter? The sports industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Leading equipment and apparel providers have a great deal invested in their designs, endorsements, and reputation for quality. To recover value from these investments, brands need to protect their IP. While apparel — such as jerseys — are in-demand products that call for IP protection, there are also other parts of the industry that need protection. For example, broadcast networks can lose market share to sports piracy sites and illegal streaming platforms (i.e., websites where the website owner lacks the right or authorization to stream the content). Subscription networks such as ESPN, NBC Sports Network, and Fox Sports are often the victims of piracy. Despite laws and regulations in countries around the world, piracy still occurs throughout the globe. Piracy can take on many forms, such as the unlicensed distribution of recordings, unlicensed DVD production and/or distribution, unauthorized live streaming, or the unlicensed transmission of cable networks. Stopping piracy has become a global effort, with stakeholders and government agencies working to preserve and defend their rights.

The U.S. government pays close attention to how countries around the world protect American innovation and ingenuity. If you’re interested in learning more about how counterfeiting and piracy continue to affect industries and how governments get involved, you can read more on our STOPfakes website.

Posted in Intellectual Property, World Trade Month | Tagged , | Comments Off on World Trade Month: Honoring the Role of Intellectual Property in Sports

h1

International Intellectual Property Day

April 26, 2018

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

By Stevan Mitchell, Director, Office of Intellectual Property Rights, Industry and Analysis, International Trade Administration

Logo for stopfakes.gov websiteIntellectual property (IP) is a key commodity in U.S. trade.  Each year more than 50 percent of U.S. merchandise exports and more than 10 percent of total U.S. services exports come from IP intensive industries.  The United States has become the global leader in cutting edge sectors in part due to strong IP protection regimes. Our commitment to IP protection and enforcement is among the strongest in the world, as reflected in our trade relationships. We know that IP is how the U.S. economy will continue to grow, and that protection both at home and abroad are critical for our industries to flourish worldwide.

Although IP is a private right, government has an essential role to play in educating innovators and creators about its importance, how to obtain protection, and how to enforce against infringers. This is particularly the case when it comes to obtaining and enforcing IP in foreign markets. Although all WTO members must adhere to the minimum IP protections set out in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs), the specifics of IP protection vary widely by country. Even for U.S. businesses that do not export, foreign protection of IP is critical; businesses should always be registered in markets where they manufacture, in addition to markets where they sell their products.

The Office of Intellectual Property Rights at the International Trade Administration (ITA) takes seriously our mandate to educate U.S. business, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), about protecting IP in foreign markets. To that end, today, in commemoration of World IP Day 2018, we are pleased to announce the publication of four new Country Toolkits on www.STOPfakes.gov to assist U.S. entrepreneurs in understanding the ins and outs of IP protections in four Southeast Asian markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. ITA and the Department of Commerce would like to recognize the professionals whose efforts contributed to these toolkits, including Margaret (Maggie) Hanson-Muse and her regional team for envisioning and originating the project, and IP Attaché Peter Fowler for his guidance and expertise.

In addition to the new comprehensive toolkits, we are excited to announce the launch of a brand new series of Country Snapshots, available on the Toolkits page of www.STOPfakes.gov.  The Country Snapshots are a quick and easy way to learn the basics about how to protect IP in a foreign market. Each Snapshot identifies the agencies responsible for obtaining patents or trademarks and for registering copyright, and provides their contact information. The Snapshots also list the international agreements to which the country is a party, the legal framework for the protection of trade secrets, and identify whether the country is listed on the Special 301 Report (an annual report identifying markets with deficient IP protections).

This first tranche of Snapshots includes some of the world’s largest markets. Upcoming releases will include U.S. FTA partners and countries in the European Union. These Snapshots are a first stop for American entrepreneurs who are preparing to export or manufacture abroad. Combined with our national STOPFakes.gov Road Shows and other educational resources available on our site, we are providing our innovative industries with the information they need to take full advantage of export markets without putting at risk their valuable IP assets.

Our office is committed to partnering with ITA industry analysts to produce more industry-specific products. We have recently launched a series of Industry IP Toolkits, which identify for exporters of products and services those IP issues they should address early on in developing export strategies. We now have Industry Toolkits for exporters of building materials, medical devices and auto parts, and today we publish a new Industry Toolkit for pleasure boat exporters. 

We are also excited to announce the launch of @STOPfakesGov twitter account, to keep followers apprised of new events and publications, as well as tips and observations useful to protecting creative, innovative and branded assets.  Follow us!

Posted in Intellectual Property, Trade Policy | Tagged | Comments Off on International Intellectual Property Day

h1

Five Tips for Protecting Your Intellectual Property in Global Business

April 23, 2014

Ken Mouradian is the Director of the International Trade Administration’s Orlando Export Assistance Center.

You spent the time and money to build your business, including the development of products and services (patents, trade secrets and copyrights), business methods (trade secrets), brands (trademarks and service marks), and your presence on the Internet (trademarks and associated domain names, copyrights). Why wouldn’t you protect these Intellectual Property (IP) assets from unauthorized use?

Stopfakes.gov is your portal to resources for protecting intellectual property.Many small businesses are at a disadvantage in not having the expertise or resources to prevent theft of their intellectual property in the global marketplace. So in recognition of World IP Day on April 26, here are some simple, practical measures that any exporter can take to protect their IP assets:

  1. Conduct an IP audit. An IP audit will document the assets that you own, the assets that you may be acquiring, and how you’re using other people’s IP. It should support your export marketing plan, as an IP audit allows you to make business decisions about which assets to protect in each market. It doesn’t have to be elaborate; and it’s something that you can do yourself.
  2. Own your business… all of it! If you allow your foreign business partner to register your IP, in most foreign countries, they become the “right holder.” You need to register your own IP assets and record trademark and copyright registrations (and in some countries, design patents) with the customs administration to block the import and export of infringing items.
  3. Know your partners. Your local U.S. Export Assistance Center can help you to qualify existing or potential foreign business partners. Include provisions in your contracts that require the use of original and unaltered products and preclude the partners’ registration of your IP.
  4. Monitor the use of your IP. Plan to visit the market regularly; and use track-and-trace technology like RFID or bar codes to make it easier to audit products and spot fakes. Monitor domain names, e-commerce and auction platforms; and use Internet search engines – including image search – to find infringing products online. Include the obligation to report instances of infringement in your contracts with foreign business partners; and train business partners to spot fakes.
  5. Have an enforcement strategy. Make it part of your export marketing plan to know the administrative and legal relief available to you to enforce your Intellectual Property Rights in each export market. STOPfakes.gov offers country toolkits for select markets. You can also obtain country-specific information from U.S. embassies by contacting your local U.S. Export Assistance Center.

There is no substitute for qualified legal counsel. However, there is a lot that you can do yourself to get started. For more information, please visit www.STOPfakes.gov and the Inventors Resources Center from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Posted in Export Assistance, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Five Tips for Protecting Your Intellectual Property in Global Business

h1

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 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on World IP Day