COAC's IPR Subcommittee Proposes Seven Projects to CBP
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Subcommittee report that was approved at the November 2008 COAC meeting.
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The IPR Subcommittee report contains seven proposed projects to improve the IPR process.
Seven Projects Proposed, Three Given Priority
According to the report, the subcommittee proposed seven projects to improve the IPR process but decided (by member vote) that only the following three would proceed in order for the subcommittee and CBP to devote more resources to these projects:
Provide rights holder with information - There needs to be a mechanism whereby CBP can improve what information can be provided to the rights holder, including an improved description of the detained merchandise1.
According to the subcommittee, CBP is exploring options for balancing the protection of confidential information imposed by the Trade Secrets Act and 19 CFR 133.25. The subcommittee suggests that maybe a Memorandum of Understanding could be developed between the government whereby the company could have access to additional details, such as lot number, serial number, etc.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/24/08 news, 08102425, for BP summary of CBP and the IPR subcommittee discussing providing information to rights holders.)
Allow rights holder to post a continuous bond - The subcommittee proposes that a rights holder be able to post a single continuous bond in order to release samples of suspected counterfeit materials. (CBP regulations require a bond to be posted by the rights holder prior to any sample being released from an individual port.) Ports would be instructed that certain rights holders are participating in such a program and are not required to post individual bonds.
Voluntary disclosure of IPR Violations - This project would allow companies to voluntarily disclose IPR violations to CBP and properly dispose of the infringing merchandise. The subcommittee notes that models for this proposal can be found in 19 CFR 162.74 (Prior disclosure) and 19 CFR 134.51 (Procedure when importation found not legally marked).
The four remaining projects are as follows:
Importers provide data for ATS scoring - This project recommends a study to determine the practicality of importers filing data with CBP that accurately describes the inbound supply chain of IPR protected merchandise. The data would be used, together with other targeting criteria, to raise the Automated Targeting System (ATS) score of transactions outside of pre-filed parameters.
Centralized database - This project recommends the establishment of a centralized database to which enforcement authorities, rights holders and other stakeholders may contribute data.
Study CBP's recordation system - This project recommends a study of the current Customs recordation system to evaluate its effectiveness in the identification, interception, and detention of suspected materials that infringe on IPR.
Value study - This project recommends that a study be conducted to determine the correct value that should be use when disclosing IPR seizures.
1Subcommittee members previously noted that often, CBP officers will contact them and ask the rights holder to make a determination if the product detained is IPR infringing or legitimate. When the rights holder requests additional information on the product, the CBP officer is unable to provide sufficient details to enable the rights holder to assist with the determination.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/17/09 news, 09021750 2, for BP summary announcing the availability of this report, and other documents from the November 2008 COAC meeting.
See ITT's Online Archives or 01/30/09 news, 09013035 2, for BP summary of the meeting minutes for the November COAC meeting.)
IPR subcommittee report (posted 02/12/09) available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/trade_outreach/coac/meetings/11202008_meeting/ipr_report.ctt/ipr_report.doc