USTR Seeks Comments for "Special 301" Out-of-Cycle IPR Reviews of Brazil, Czech Republic, and Pakistan
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice requesting written comments on its "Special 301" out-of-cycle reviews (OCRs) of Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan regarding their intellectual property rights protection and enforcement.
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(The USTR has previously stated that OCRs are conducted on countries that warrant further review before the next Special 301 Report and could result in changes in their status before next April's report.)
The USTR explains that on April 27, 2007, it announced the results of its 2007 Special 301 Review of other countries' IPR protection and stated that OCRs would be conducted for four countries, including Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/10/07 news, 07071030, for BP summary of USTR's earlier announcement of the OCR for Russia, the fourth country designated for an OCR.)
(In its 2007 Special 301 Review, USTR noted that it would conduct an OCR for Brazil to, among other things, evaluate the sustainability of progress Brazil had achieved with respect to IPR enforcement and for Pakistan as a result of lack of progress in certain IPR areas. For the Czech Republic, USTR cited concern over pirated and counterfeit products sold in open air markets and stated it would conduct an OCR to monitor progress.)
According to the USTR, comments should include a description of experiences with respect to Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan in the field of IPR and the effect of the acts, policies, and practices of Brazil, the Czech Republic, or Pakistan on U.S. industry. USTR states that comments should be as detailed as possible and should provide all necessary information for assessing the effect of any acts, policies, and practices. USTR requests that any comments that include quantitative loss claims be accompanied by the methodology used in calculating such estimated losses.
-comments must be received on or before 10 a.m. on October 15, 2007
USTR Contact - Jennifer Groves (202) 395-4510
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/03/07 news, 07050310, for BP summary of the results of the 2007 Special 301 review with a link to the report.)
USTR Notice (FR Pub 09/06/07) available athttp://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-4335.pdf