The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released results Thursday of its 2015 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on intellectual property infringement. It focused on the sale of counterfeit goods online, listing 14 online markets alongside physical markets in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay and Thailand. USTR cited the difficulties customs authorities face attempting to stop shipments of counterfeit goods sold online, and the growing problem of free trade zones enabling counterfeit activities. Major Chinese online shopping website Taobao again escaped inclusion, after last being listed in 2012. USTR said Taobao parent Alibaba took some enforcement measures over the past year, including “a good-faith product takedown procedure, a three and four strikes penalty system, and an English-language version of the TaoProtect portal to register [intellectual property rights] and submit takedown requests.” But USTR said it's “increasingly concerned” by reports that Alibaba’s enforcement program is “too slow, difficult to use, and lacks transparency.” The report applauded China for its efforts over the past year to examine the problem of counterfeit sales online; a study by that country in November found less than 59 percent of articles sold online last year were genuine. USTR cautioned that large free trade zones have “become enablers for counterfeit activities and are being used as a staging ground to disguise the illicit nature of counterfeit goods, to add infringing trademarks, logos and packaging to products, as well as to conceal the origin of counterfeit goods.” The EU has said counterfeiters are to blame, noted USTR. The issue would be partially addressed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, it said. Distribution of counterfeit goods bought online is a major enforcement challenge for customs authorities, said USTR. The report “shines an essential light on the rampant nature of content theft, which diminishes the work of creators, harms consumers through the spread of malware,” MPAA CEO Chris Dodd said in a statement. “As the film and television industry relies on robust copyright frameworks to create and distribute content around the globe, the report is a reminder that it’s important to include strong protections for intellectual property in trade agreements such as the TPP.” USTR’s decision to take “action against the identified markets is a win for both consumers and rights holders, allowing the legitimate foreign market distribution of, and thus greater access to, legal content -- of literary works, music, movies and TV programming, video games, software, and other products and services,” said International Intellectual Property Alliance Counsel Steven Metalitz in a statement.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released results Thursday of its 2015 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on intellectual property infringement. It focused on the sale of counterfeit goods online, listing 14 online markets alongside physical markets in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay and Thailand. USTR cited the difficulties customs authorities face attempting to stop shipments of counterfeit goods sold online, and the growing problem of free trade zones enabling counterfeit activities. Major Chinese online shopping website Taobao again escaped inclusion, after last being listed in 2012. USTR said Taobao parent Alibaba took some enforcement measures over the past year, including “a good-faith product takedown procedure, a three and four strikes penalty system, and an English-language version of the TaoProtect portal to register [intellectual property rights] and submit takedown requests.” But USTR said it's “increasingly concerned” by reports that Alibaba’s enforcement program is “too slow, difficult to use, and lacks transparency.” The report applauded China for its efforts over the past year to examine the problem of counterfeit sales online; a study by that country in November found less than 59 percent of articles sold online last year were genuine. USTR cautioned that large free trade zones have “become enablers for counterfeit activities and are being used as a staging ground to disguise the illicit nature of counterfeit goods, to add infringing trademarks, logos and packaging to products, as well as to conceal the origin of counterfeit goods.” The EU has said counterfeiters are to blame, noted USTR. The issue would be partially addressed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, it said. Distribution of counterfeit goods bought online is a major enforcement challenge for customs authorities, said USTR. The report “shines an essential light on the rampant nature of content theft, which diminishes the work of creators, harms consumers through the spread of malware,” MPAA CEO Chris Dodd said in a statement. “As the film and television industry relies on robust copyright frameworks to create and distribute content around the globe, the report is a reminder that it’s important to include strong protections for intellectual property in trade agreements such as the TPP.” USTR’s decision to take “action against the identified markets is a win for both consumers and rights holders, allowing the legitimate foreign market distribution of, and thus greater access to, legal content -- of literary works, music, movies and TV programming, video games, software, and other products and services,” said International Intellectual Property Alliance Counsel Steven Metalitz in a statement.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Dec. 17 released the results of its 2015 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on intellectual property infringement (here). This year’s out of cycle review focused on the sale of counterfeit goods online, listing 14 online markets alongside physical markets in China, Nigeria, Paraguay, Brazil, Indonesia, Argentina, India, Mexico and Thailand. USTR cited the difficulties customs authorities face attempting to stop shipments of counterfeit goods sold online, as well as the growing problem of free trade zones enabling counterfeit activities.

The Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA) upgraded projections of 4K Ultra HD TV sales for 2015 (see 1511120014) -- upped from 4.4 million to 6 million-plus -- will get there with the help of cheap TVs this Christmas, our scan of Black Friday ads found.

CBP will adopt a final rule on the centralization of the agency's continuous bond program that doesn't include several previously proposed provisions, CBP said in a notice (here). A CBP proposal in 2010 (see 10011105) mentioned numerous changes that the agency decided to avoid due to other regulatory updates, it said. The agency also added some new changes in response to public comments it received, CBP said. The rule is effective Dec. 14.

The Food and Drug Administration will require extra documentation from importers of food, drugs and medical devices that have passed through the port of Tianjin, China due to a recent industrial accident that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals, said CBP in a CSMS message dated Sept. 11 (here). Entry and shipping documents such as bills of lading, air waybills and commercial invoices must be submitted to FDA for any entries of human and animal food products, human and animal drug products, and medical devices that are indicated as having originated from, stored in, or transited through the industrial center Binhai New Area in Tianjin, China, said CBP.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for input as it builds its 2015 Notorious Markets List (here). The list is an out-of-cycle review based off the annual Special 301 Report. The list identifies “online and physical marketplaces that reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting,” the USTR notice said. Those commercial areas include foreign trade zones, said USTR. The 2014 Notorious Markets List, which published in March, identified counterfeit marketplaces across the globe (see 1503060033). Comments are due by Oct. 5. USTR prefers comments be submitted through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-0016.

Various rural LECs disputed preliminary FCC findings that they face 100 percent overlap from unsubsidized broadband/voice competitors, which if they do, will lead to their high-cost USF support being phased out under commission rules. Cable companies and other RLEC rivals said they were providing overlapping competition in a number of areas. NTCA, which represents many RLECs, urged the commission to require the competitors to provide specific evidence beyond assertions of previously reported deployment data submitted by broadband providers on Form 477.

Various rural LECs disputed preliminary FCC findings that they face 100 percent overlap from unsubsidized broadband/voice competitors, which if they do, will lead to their high-cost USF support being phased out under commission rules. Cable companies and other RLEC rivals said they were providing overlapping competition in a number of areas. NTCA, which represents many RLECs, urged the commission to require the competitors to provide specific evidence beyond assertions of previously reported deployment data submitted by broadband providers on Form 477.

The U.S. International Trade Commission released its annual report on the previous year's trade-related activities, it said in a press release (here). The report (here) includes an overview of antidumping and countervailing duty, safeguard, intellectual property rights, and section 301 cases undertaken by the U.S. government in 2014. In addition, the report covers: