U.S. Government Launches STOP! Initiative to Fight Global Trade in Fake Goods
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing a new government-wide initiative, known as the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!), to fight global trade in pirated and counterfeit goods.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
According to the USTR, global intellectual property rights (IPR) theft and trade in fake goods have grown to unprecedented levels. The USTR cites Interpol estimates that 7% of global trade now involves counterfeited goods that cost legitimate rights holders around the world billion of dollars annually. The USTR adds that since 2000, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has increased IPR seizures by 100% and this year alone has made 5,500 seizures with a value of $90 million.
Highlights of Initiative's Key Elements
According to the USTR's press release and a fact sheet, key elements of the STOP! Initiative include:
Implementing new procedures and risk assessments that will allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and CBP to better identify firms routinely trafficking in fake goods.
Exposing pirates and counterfeiters by publishing the names of overseas firms that produce or trade in fakes in the USTR's annual Special 301 Report, as well as employing methods to increase the costs to violators far beyond seizing shipments; and
Developing a "No Trade in Fakes" program in cooperation with the private sector to ensure that global supply chains are free of infringing goods.
Establishing a hotline that provides a one-stop-shop for businesses to protect their intellectual property at home and aboard. The USTR states that 1-866-999-HALT gives businesses the information they need to leverage the resources of the U.S. government.
USTR Press Release (dated 10/04/04) available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2004/October/U.S._Announces_Major_New_Initiative_to_Fight_Global_Trade_in_Fakes.html
STOP! Fact Sheet available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2004/asset_upload_file507_6462.pdf