STOPfakes.gov Road Shows Bring U.S. Government Tools and Assistance to You
September 26, 2012Andrea Cornwell is an International Trade Specialist in the Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR) within the Market Access and Compliance unit of the International Trade Administration. Raquel Cohen, also an International Trade Specialist in OIPR, coordinated the STOPfakes.gov Road Shows.
Hello from Chicago, where I just wrapped up our most recent stop on ITA’s STOPFakes.gov Road Shows tour. The Road Shows have been a hit across the U.S. After a whirlwind tour to eight cities, my colleagues and I have met with hundreds of U.S. companies, educating them on how to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights (IPR) in the U.S. and in foreign markets. At each Road Show, our team of experts covered the basics—how to protect your company’s patents, trademarks, and copyrights—and advised on protection for online content and useful law enforcement resources to seize counterfeit products. We also offered free one-on-one consultations for U.S. companies at the end of each session.
My colleagues and I have enjoyed getting to meet U.S. exporters across the country, and have appreciated hearing first-hand about the challenges they face with respect to protecting and enforcing their IPR. During my time in Chicago, some common questions that companies have asked include:
- Can I get a patent for my product?
- Can I seek trademark protection for my company’s name and logo?
- What should I protect prior to exporting?
- How can I prevent counterfeit products from entering the U.S. market?
If you weren’t able to join us at one of our Road Shows, don’t worry – you haven’t missed your chance to ask your questions! We’re always ready to help U.S. companies with IPR-related issues, and can be reached through the contact page on our one-stop IPR portal, STOPfakes.gov.
And don’t forget, the STOPfakes.gov Road Show has one more stop in Oklahoma City on September 28. For more information about our final stop, please contact Ashley Wilson at ashley.wilson@trade.gov.
“At each Road Show, our team of experts covered the basics—how to protect your company’s patents, trademarks, and copyrights—and advised on protection for online content and useful law enforcement resources to seize counterfeit products.”
My questions: is there information provided at the road show about dealing with Chinese intellectual property infringement?
The STOPfakes.gov Road Show covers intellectual property concerns in China. For more information on how to address intellectual property infringements in China, we have a free China IPR Webinar series available at: http://www.stopfakes.gov/china-ipr-webinar. If you have a specific question related to intellectual property concerns in China, please ask through the contact form on the STOPfakes.gov website here: http://www.stopfakes.gov/china-ipr-webinar.
I have made numerous mistakes about this subject matter in the past, due to the rapidly changing laws. I am glad for all of the clarification.
This sounds like a great program. Will you be doing anymore roadshows soon? Who can I get in touch with for country-specific information?
I am so glad that this is being done. It is good for the economy all the way around.