Category Archives: IPEC

IPEC Victoria Espinel Steps Down

by Christina Frangiosa

Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Victoria Espinel, has stepped down from her position, effective Friday, August 9, 2013. Andrew Ramonas, “White House IP Chief Victoria Espinel Steps Down,” Corporate Counsel, Aug. 13, 2013. Until a new IPEC is officially named, Howard Shelanski, administrator of the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, will act as Interim IPEC. Id.

According to Corporate Counsel, “Congress created the intellectual property enforcement coordinator post in the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (text), and the Senate confirmed Espinel as the coordinator in December 2009. She previously was an IP law professor at George Mason University School of Law and the first assistant U.S. trade representative for intellectual property and innovation.” Id. Continue reading …

USPTO Extends Deadline for Voluntary Best Practices Study

by Christina Frangiosa

The USPTO recently requested comment from the public on the topic of “processes, data metrics, and methodologies that could be used to assess the effectiveness of cooperative agreements and other voluntary initiatives to reduce intellectual property infringement that occurs on-line—such as copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.” See Prior Blog Post, White House Releases Second Joint Strategic Plan for IP Enforcement (June 20, 2013). The original deadline for comment was July 22, 2013.

On July 17, 2013, the USPTO extended the deadline until August 21, 2013.

Interested parties should respond to the current regulation (Fed. Reg. No. 2013-17166, see explanation in “Voluntary Best Practices Study; Extension of Comment Period“) and include the information itemized in the original request (Fed. Reg. No. 2013-37210).

Online Piracy and Counterfeiting: Ad Networks Adopt New “Best Practices Guidelines”

by Christina Frangiosa

On July 15, 2013, the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), Victoria Espinel, announced the adoption of best practices for online advertising, with an aim to reduce the influx of counterfeiting or pirating conduct. The IPEC explained that these practices are aimed at “reducing the flow of ad revenue to operators of sites engaged in significant piracy and counterfeiting.” Victoria Espinel, “Coming Together to Combat Online Piracy and Counterfeiting,” Office of Management and Budget (July 15, 2013). The participants in this program – at least at the outset, are 24/7 Media, AOL, Conde Nast, Google, Microsoft, SpotXchange and Yahoo! Id.   While supporting and encouraging initiatives like this, the IPEC also cautioned that these activities be undertaken in the context of other interests in the Internet marketplace:

“It is critical that such efforts be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with all applicable laws and with the Administration’s broader Internet policy principles emphasizing privacy, free speech, fair process, and competition. We encourage the companies participating to continue to work with all interested stakeholders, including creators, rightholders, and public interest groups, to ensure that their practices are transparent and fully consistent with the democratic values that have helped the Internet to flourish. We also encourage other participants in the online advertising space to consider adopting voluntary initiatives that protect ad networks, publishers, advertisers, creators, rightholders, and above all, consumers.”

Id. The IPEC’s blog post includes links to the public statements made by AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! about these best practices. A copy of the best practices themselves can be found here.

Continue reading …

White House Releases Second Joint Strategic Plan for IP Enforcement

by Christina Frangiosa

Today, the IPEC (Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator) announced that the White House has released its second Strategic Plan for IP Enforcement. The IPEC’s blog provides more information about what is included in the update: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/20/intellectual-property-key-driver-our-economy. Among the myriad updates in this report are the following: Continue reading …

Congressional Joint Economic Committee Published Report on Impacts of IP Theft

by Christina Frangiosa

On August 6, 2012, the Joint Economic Committee issued its report on “The Impact of Intellectual Property Theft on the Economy.” (Press release; report). In summary, the report explains:

“IP infringement harms companies through lost revenue, the costs of IP protection, damage to brand, and decreased incentives to innovate because of potential theft.[FN3] Consumers are harmed when they purchase counterfeit goods of lower quality, some of which, such as counterfeit medicines, may pose health or safety risks. Governments lose tax revenue and bear enforcement costs. Decreased incentives to innovate resulting from IP infringement reduce economic growth, weaken the nation’s competitiveness, and decrease job creation.” (Report at 1)

Each of these items of harm are detailed in the report, which cites statistics about seizures by various government agencies, both U.S. and abroad. In addition, it singles out China as a major source of “pirated goods seized at the U.S. border.” (Id.)

The report also posits that small businesses are less likely to be able to combat such infringement, or actively enforce their IP rights, because they lack the resources to pursue enforcement actions.  The report explains that this conclusion derives directly from statistics about filing habits in judicial fora:  “Data on investigations initiated and completed by the U.S. ITC [International Trade Commission] show that while small businesses represent 79.0 percent of all businesses in the U.S., they comprise only 10.5% of firms filing complaints regarding intellectual property infringement.” (Id. at 3) (footnote omitted). Indeed, 78.9% of the firms that seek to enforce their rights through this mechanism are apparently large or public firms. (Id.)

Finally, the report concludes that the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) is preparing a new Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, which presents an opportunity to improve protections for U.S. IP rights holders. (The IPEC’s June 2012 Report on the Joint Strategic Plan (2 Year Anniversary Report) is the most current version available online.)