The Los Angeles Field Operations branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Public Bulletin to announce that the LA/Long Beach Seaport is posting the “official” Bulletin Notices of Liquidation -- CBP Forms 4333 -- on a compact disk as of January 6, 2012 for three port codes. According to CBP sources, this change facilitates requests for copies, as it will be less burdensome than copying from the paper version.
This is a reminder that comments are due January 23, 2012 on the Consumer Product Safety Commission's notice on ways to reduce the cost of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) third party testing requirements for children’s products that are consistent with assuring compliance with any applicable consumer product safety rule, ban, standard, or regulation. Based on the comments received, CPSC may prescribe new or revised third-party testing regulations.
The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a notice, effective December 21, 2011, which states that it proposes1 to only begin on January 4, 2012 the process of making identifications of nations whose vessels are engaged in fishing in waters beyond any national jurisdiction that target or incidentally catch sharks and to publish the first identifications in the January 2013 Biennial Report to Congress.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking as it has reason to believe that firepots and gel fuel used together may present an unreasonable risk of injury. CPSC invites comments on the risk of injury of these products and the regulatory alternatives discussed in the notice. Interested persons may also submit an existing standard or a statement of intent to modify or develop a voluntary standard to address the risk of injury described in the notice.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice requesting comments to assist it in identifying countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection as part of its 2012 "Special 301" annual review.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking comments on a provisionally-accepted Settlement Agreement with E&B Giftware LLC which includes a civil penalty of $550,000, with an agreement to suspend a portion of that penalty if certain conditions are met. The agreement would settle staff allegations that E&B Giftware failed to immediately notify CPSC of a defect in certain exercise balls that it imported and distributed for several years, as required by federal law.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced the conclusion of its second Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets1, launched on September 22, 2011, which identifies more than 30 markets that typify the problem of marketplaces that deal in goods and services that infringe on intellectual property rights (IPR) and help to sustain global piracy and counterfeiting. This year’s list also highlights positive developments since the issuance of the previous Notorious Markets List in February 2011.
There were some positive developments noted in the U.S. Trade Representative’s new “Notorious Markets” report (http://xrl.us/bmmh4d), but “piracy and counterfeiting continue to present a serious challenge to ... innovation and creativity,” the agency said Tuesday. Groups representing U.S. copyright holders said the report highlights the need for more accountability and vigilance to protect intellectual property online.
There were some positive developments noted in the U.S. Trade Representative’s new “Notorious Markets” report (http://xrl.us/bmmh4d), but “piracy and counterfeiting continue to present a serious challenge to ... innovation and creativity,” the agency said Tuesday. Groups representing U.S. copyright holders said the report highlights the need for more accountability and vigilance to protect intellectual property online.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for December 12-16, 2011 in case they were missed last week.