U.S. Chamber Urges USTR to Strengthen 301 IPR Review Process
On February 23, 2011, U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) Executive Vice President Mark Elliot testified before the Special 301 Committee on the U.S. Trade Representative's Special 301 Report identifying countries that have inadequate protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). Elliot stated that while the Special 301 Report is valuable, the GIPC believes there are ways the process could be improved and urges Congress to enact legislation that will enhance the tools available to the administration to engage more effectively with countries that fail to respect and enforce the rights of U.S. innovators and live up to their international intellectual property obligations.
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GIPC's submission to USTR highlights areas in which it sees major challenges to IP protection and enforcement, including efforts to erode the protection of IPR globally, the lack of adequate legal and enforceable standards in the online environment, the need for additional resources legislatively and the systemic IP challenges arising from bilateral or multilateral actions. The GIPC also provides an overall assessment of 8 countries (Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine) that present significant concerns across industries with respect to adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement.
(See ITT's Online Archives 11122811 for summary of USTR's December 2011 request for comments and announcement of the February 23 public hearing on its 2012 Special 301 annual review.)