Obama Administration Announces Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement

June 24, 2010

On June 22, 2010, the Obama Administration released the Federal Government’s first-ever “Joint Strategic Plan for Intellectual Property Enforcement.”  The strategy contains more than thirty concrete recommendations for improvement falling into the following six categories:

• Lead by Example:   Work to ensure that the Federal Government does not purchase pirated goods.
• Transparency: The U.S. Government will support transparency in the development of enforcement policy, information sharing, and reporting of law enforcement activities at home or abroad.
• Improve Coordination and Efficiency:   The U.S. Government will strengthen the coordination of: (1) law enforcement efforts at the Federal, state and local level; (2) personnel stationed overseas; and (3) international training and capacity building efforts.
• Work with Trading Partners and within International Organizations to Better Enforce American IP Rights in the Global Economy.
• Securing the Supply Chain: The U.S. Government will work to secure supply chains to stem the flow of infringing products through law enforcement efforts and through enhanced cooperation with the private sector.
• Build a Data-Driven Government: The U.S. Government will improve data and information collection from intellectual property-related activities and assess domestic and foreign laws and enforcement activities to enable an open and fair environment for American intellectual property right holders.

Highlights from the 30-plus specific enforcement strategy items include:

• The government will establish a working group to study how to reduce its risk of procuring counterfeit parts.
• The U.S. Trade Representative will initiate an interagency process to assess opportunities to further publicize and potentially expand the on the notorious markets list in the annual  Section 301 Report.
• Create a single database shatter by federal law enforcement agencies containing information about IPR cases.
• Establish an interagency committee on the counterfeiting of pharmaceutical drugs and medical products to examine the myriad of problems associated with unlicensed Internet Pharmacies.
• Amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require that manufacturers, wholesalers and dispensers implement a track and trace system that allows for the authentication of the product and the creation of an electronic pedigree for medical products using unique identifiers for products.

To view the Administration’s complete strategy, click here.