The intellectual property attache program would be moved to the...
The intellectual property attache program would be moved to the full Commerce Department from the Patent and Trademark Office, to be supervised by a new assistant secretary for IP, under a bill introduced Monday by House Judiciary Committee leaders. The…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Intellectual Property Attache Act, which doesn’t have a bill number yet (http://xrl.us/bngamv), would task the Commerce secretary with placing attaches in countries where they are likely to reduce infringement “in the U.S. market and globally,” advance IP rights of U.S. owners and those “who may be otherwise harmed” by IP violations, and further market access to U.S. interests. The president would appoint the assistant secretary for IP, who would report to the PTO director. The assistant secretary would work with departments “including” the U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator. The PTO administrator for policy and external affairs would be redesignated as a deputy assistant secretary of commerce for IP policy and external affairs, and the Commerce secretary would have authority to create more deputy assistant secretary positions. Sponsors include committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich., IP Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., Ranking Member Mel Watt, D-N.C., House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Howard Berman, D-Calif. The bill is scheduled to be marked up Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn building.