The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should...
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should “set aside its inquiry of industry’s voluntary initiatives to reduce online infringement for a broader review that looks beyond data and metrics of enforcement mechanisms,” the Internet Association said Wednesday in a…
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filing. “By moving forward with its present examination, the USPTO runs the risk of drawing conclusions about our entire copyright system based on only one piece of a complex puzzle.” PTO had requested public input as part of that inquiry, which is part of a broader administration effort to reduce online infringement of intellectual property. Comments on the inquiry were due Wednesday, but PTO had not posted the comments online by our deadline (http://1.usa.gov/1asm8Kx). A more holistic approach would help the PTO determine that the current IP landscape “involves important industry practices, marketplace realities, and consumer behavioral dynamics that all play a role in both the source of and potential solutions to online infringement,” the Internet Association said. “For instance, the introduction of legal alternatives to content in certain markets has resulted in dramatic reductions in online infringement. This phenomenon, among others, is largely under-examined."