On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder and other senior Department of Justice (DOJ) officials announced more than $2.4 million in grants to thirteen jurisdictions around the United States to combat the sale and purchase of counterfeit and pirated products. The grants are a major component of the Justice Department’s commitment to work closely with a variety of federal, state, local, and international partners to more effectively fight intellectual property crime, provide direct support to critical law enforcement allies, and strengthen law enforcement’s ability to protect American innovation.
The jurisdictions receiving the grants are: Austin, Texas; Baltimore County, Maryland; Central Point, Oregon; Cook County, Illinois; Orlando, Florida; Riverside County, California; Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office; New York County District Attorney’s Office; Sacramento County, California; San Antonio, Texas; the California Department of Justice; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; and the Virginia State Police. The full DOJ Press Release can be found here, and more information about other U.S. Government initiatives to combat intellectual property theft can be found here.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the October 1, 2012 launch of a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) partnership with the patent office of the Czech Republic, and the planned launch of two more PPH partnerships with the patent offices of the Philippines and Portugal in January 2013. The PPH system allows for expedited patent examinations in partner countries, permitting PPH applicants to obtain corresponding foreign patents more quickly and efficiently. The USPTO currently has PPH arrangements with the intellectual property offices of Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The full USPTO Press Release can be found here, and more information about the PPH system can be found here and here.
In its recent coverage of a large-scale seizure of counterfeit goods by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport, ABC World News cited STOPfakes.gov as its source for key information on the effects of counterfeiting and piracy on the U.S. economy. To learn more about the seizure and watch the segment, visit ABC’s website here.
STOPfakes.gov is bringing U.S. government tools and assistance "offline" to small and medium sized businesses across America. Trade experts and attorneys from the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are traveling across the country to host one-day seminars on how companies and individuals can protect and enforce intellectual property to get the most out of exporting abroad. The STOPfakes.gov Road Show is traveling to ten U.S. cities to answer your questions about commercializing your creations and innovations. This seminar includes strategies for protecting and enforcing a company’s intellectual property when exporting to foreign markets and advice for avoiding common pitfalls. Participants will have the chance to ask export questions involving patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights and domain names. At the conclusion of each Road Show, participants can take advantage of one-on-one consultations with intellectual property experts to get targeted advice. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular will benefit from this unique opportunity. Upcoming Road Show cities and dates are listed below. Click on the city name below for registration information. Questions can be directed to the contact listed.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 2012 Fall Roadshow Series will kick off Monday, September 10th, in Minneapolis and conclude on Friday, September 28th, in New York City. The free, one-day events will inform the public about new final rules implementing provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) that become effective on September 16, 2012.
The roadshows are great opportunities to learn about the final rules for inventor’s oath/declaration, pre-issuance submissions, citation of patent owner statements, supplemental examination, inter partes review, post grant review, and covered business method review, as well as proposed rules for fees and the first-inventor-to-file provision. Each roadshow will explain the final and proposed rules and answer audience questions. We hope to see you there!
The roadshows will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the following locations:
September 10: Minneapolis (Hennepin County Library) September 12: Alexandria (USPTO campus) September 14: Los Angeles (Los Angeles Public Library) September 17: Denver (Denver Public Library) September 20: Detroit (Detroit Public Library) September 24: Atlanta (Georgia Institute of Technology Library) September 26: Houston (Rice University Fondren Library) September 28: New York City (New York Public Library)
The roadshows are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, though seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please visit the USPTO's website.
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) will launch with an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, July 23 at 5:00 p.m. CSIP will officially announce its partnership between multiple U.S. government agencies and several worldwide internet and e-commerce organizations. The goal of this collaborative effort is an extensive campaign to help educate consumers about the dangers of unsafe counterfeit or contaminated prescription drugs. The campaign includes a website with information and tools for consumers and health care professionals, an awareness video, a social media presence, and educational search engine adds.
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies is a nonprofit organization chartered in 2011 to help Internet industry leaders find a way to address the growing problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceutical products on the Internet. The entities selling these “medicines” typically advertise and present themselves as pharmacies, which inspires consumer trust. The average consumer has no way to know whether the product he or she is purchasing is counterfeit or otherwise unsafe, and is therefore not only vulnerable to the dangers associated with these substances, but also often has little recourse.
The Act enhances penalties under Title 18 for trafficking in counterfeit drugs and directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and policy statements related to offenses that involve counterfeit drugs. It allows the FDA to require that companies notify the Agency if their drug has been counterfeited or stolen. In addition, the Act allows the FDA to destroy, without the opportunity to export, counterfeit drugs distributed in small packages (valued at $2,500 or less).
The Transatlantic IPR Working Group will meet with stakeholders on July 10, 2012 in Brussels. The event is being organized in cooperation with the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). To view the agenda, click here. To register for this event please send an email to Emanuel Adam at eadam@tabd.com. The last meeting of the Working Group was in Washington, DC, in July 2011.
NIST is participating in a series of Intellectual Property Webinars hosted by the National Council for Entrepreneurial Technology Transfer (NCET2). The webinar series started on June 13, 2012 and will continue every second Wednesday of the month until January 29, 2013 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET. The series seeks to bridge the knowledge gap on intellectual property law issues between the U.S. Government and various stakeholders. Participation in this webinar program will provide an opportunity to understand and retain best practices as well as gain access to a comprehensive and holistic viewpoint on why intellectual property law is such an important economic tool.
Register once to access the entire series of 8 scheduled webinars. If you miss a webinar, you can retrieve its archived recording on the NIST IP Webinar Series website.
Schedule
June 13 - Patents 101 Topics: Overview of the patent process with examination of each of the statutory requirements for patentability: useful, novel, non-obvious, enabling, and acceptable patentable subject matter
July 11 - Securing a Patent and AIA Implementation Topics: Inventorship, assignee rights, provisional vs non-provisional patents, grace period; Summary of AIA implementation
August 8– Intellectual Property, non-patented Topics: Trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights September 12– Researcher’s Life After Invention Disclosure Topics: Working with university TTOs, agreements, within the context of AIA
October 10– Working with a Patent Attorney/Agent and USPTO Topics: Working with the right TT Officer and law firm, addressing the documents needed for a proper application submission, drafting proper specification/drawings/claims, effective use of interview, understanding a final and non-final rejection
November 14 - Patent Trial and Appeal Board Topics: Post-final rejection, post-grant review, appeal process, inter partes re-exam
December 12– Protecting IP in Global Markets: Understanding a PCT, international issues on IP procurement, markets and competitors
January 9, 2013- Picking the Right Global Markets Topics: To where and how do I export? What programs are out there to help?
Today, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual “Special 301” Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). The Report can be found on the USTR website by clicking here.
In a USTR press release, the United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk said, “This year’s Special 301 Report is more significant than ever in light of recent U.S. Government data showing that IP intensive industries support as many as 40 million American jobs and up to 60 percent of U.S. exports. When trading partners don’t protect IPR, they threaten those critical jobs and exports. I am pleased to congratulate the Governments of Spain and Malaysia on the progress that resulted in their removal from the Special 301 Lists. On the other hand, I call on the Government of Ukraine to address the serious concerns that have caused us to put Ukraine back on the Priority Watch List.”
The Special 301 Report provides a means for the United States to promote the protection and enforcement of IPR. In the Report, USTR announced that Malaysia has been removed from the Watch List after making significant strides, including passing copyright amendments that strengthen copyright protection, stepped-up IPR enforcement, and promulgating regulations to protect pharmaceutical test data. In addition, Spain has been removed from the Watch List because of its adoption of regulations implementing a law to combat piracy over the Internet. Ukraine is being moved to the Priority Watch List from the Watch List in light of serious and growing concerns relating to counterfeiting and rampant piracy, including piracy over the Internet.
On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder and other senior Department of Justice (DOJ) officials announced more than $2.4 million in grants to thirteen jurisdictions around the United States to combat the sale and purchase of counterfeit and pirated products. The grants are a major component of the Justice Department’s commitment to work closely with a variety of federal, state, local, and international partners to more effectively fight intellectual property crime, provide direct support to critical law enforcement allies, and strengthen law enforcement’s ability to protect American innovation. 
Earlier this week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the October 1, 2012 launch of a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) partnership with the patent office of the Czech Republic, and the planned launch of two more PPH partnerships with the patent offices of the Philippines and Portugal in January 2013. The PPH system allows for expedited patent examinations in partner countries, permitting PPH applicants to obtain corresponding foreign patents more quickly and efficiently. The USPTO currently has PPH arrangements with the intellectual property offices of Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The full USPTO Press Release can be found 
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) will launch with an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, July 23 at 5:00 p.m. CSIP will officially announce its partnership between multiple U.S. government agencies and several worldwide internet and e-commerce organizations. The goal of this collaborative effort is an extensive campaign to help educate consumers about the dangers of unsafe counterfeit or contaminated prescription drugs. The campaign includes a