Hot off the presses at the US Trade Representative’s office. Well, they probably don’t have their own printing presses, but I think they did write this press release.

No editorial comments from me save one: the amount of information and help that U.S. enterprises can get with respect to IP enforcement these days from the government is quite extensive. In days past, the Embassy could only direct you to a lawyer. These days in Beijing, you can talk to an IP specialist, Mark Cohen, who knows more than a lot of practitioners out there. Also, special praise for the Online IPR Toolkit – really a nice summary of China IP issues. I used it as a resource for my IP class last week, in fact.

Improving Protection and Enforcement of IPR in China

The Administration strongly believes that China needs to do a much better job of protecting and enforcing IPR, and we continue to engage the Government of China to do more. For example:

                        • In April, USTR requested dispute settlement consultations with China at the WTO in an effort to address certain key barriers to the effective enforcement of IPR and market access for products and services of IPR industries. We have requested dispute settlement consultations with China five times – the most of any of China’s trading partners.

                        • We have used the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), co-led by USTR, to press for IPR improvements. For example, JCCT commitments to curb software piracy have contributed to a 10 percent reduction in piracy, saving industry $864 million in losses over the past three years, according to an industry report.

                        • We also use the Special 301 report to identify the specific shortcomings that China needs to address. For example, this year we conducted the first-ever provincial review to spotlight strengths and weaknesses in China’s local IPR enforcement systems.          

                        • We continue to raise IPR issues in the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED). This has already resulted, for example, in a memorandum of cooperation to enhance U.S.-China cooperation in enforcing IPR at our respective borders.

U.S. Government Resources for Right Holders

The U.S. Government has developed resources and programs to help U.S. intellectual property owners deal with overseas infringement. These resources, listed at stopfakes.gov, include:

                        • Online toolkits giving basic information on IPR enforcement in key markets.

                        • An International IPR Advisory Program and an SME China Advisory Program established by the Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the American Bar Association, which let American small and medium-sized enterprises request a free, one-hour consultation with a volunteer attorney experienced in overseas IPR issues.

                        • An IPR Ombudsman at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Mr. Yang Guohua, posted at the request of the U.S. Government, to serve as a point of contact for U.S. businesses seeking to secure and enforce their IPR in China or experiencing IPR problems there.

                        • IPR specialists at the Department of Commerce who are trained to work with companies to develop a strategy for confronting IPR problems around the world. Members of the public can learn more by visiting www.stopfakes.gov, or by calling 1-866-999-HALT.