The Senate Rules Committee’s confirmation hearing Wednesday on Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden will likely include at least a partial focus on issues of interest to the copyright community, but controversial topics like Copyright Office modernization probably won’t be a factor, copyright stakeholders said in interviews. Hayden was considered largely a blank slate on copyright policy issues, but the copyright community lauded Hayden’s work as CEO of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library system to update that system's technologies (see 1602240054 and 1603080063). The Senate Rules hearing is set to begin at 2:15 p.m. in 301 Russell.

The Senate Rules Committee’s confirmation hearing Wednesday on Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden will likely include at least a partial focus on issues of interest to the copyright community, but controversial topics like Copyright Office modernization probably won’t be a factor, copyright stakeholders said in interviews. Hayden was considered largely a blank slate on copyright policy issues, but the copyright community lauded Hayden’s work as CEO of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library system to update that system's technologies (see 1602240054 and 1603080063). The Senate Rules hearing is set to begin at 2:15 p.m. in 301 Russell.

The Senate Rules Committee’s confirmation hearing Wednesday on Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden will likely include at least a partial focus on issues of interest to the copyright community, but controversial topics like Copyright Office modernization probably won’t be a factor, copyright stakeholders said in interviews. Hayden was considered largely a blank slate on copyright policy issues, but the copyright community lauded Hayden’s work as CEO of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library system to update that system's technologies (see 1602240054 and 1603080063). The Senate Rules hearing is set to begin at 2:15 p.m. in 301 Russell.

The Senate Rules Committee scheduled Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden’s confirmation hearing for Wednesday. President Barack Obama nominated Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system in Baltimore, in February (see 1602240054). Hayden would replace Deputy Librarian of Congress David Mao, who has been acting head since previous Librarian of Congress James Billington retired in September. Stakeholders have said Hayden is largely a blank slate on copyright issues but praised her experience with pushing for major library modernizations, given the Library of Congress’ IT issues (see 1603080063). The hearing is to begin at 2:15 p.m. in 301 Russell, Senate Rules said.

The Senate Rules Committee scheduled Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden’s confirmation hearing for Wednesday. President Barack Obama nominated Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system in Baltimore, in February (see 1602240054). Hayden would replace Deputy Librarian of Congress David Mao, who has been acting head since previous Librarian of Congress James Billington retired in September. Stakeholders have said Hayden is largely a blank slate on copyright issues but praised her experience with pushing for major library modernizations, given the Library of Congress’ IT issues (see 1603080063). The hearing is to begin at 2:15 p.m. in 301 Russell, Senate Rules said.

The Senate Rules Committee scheduled Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden’s confirmation hearing for Wednesday. President Barack Obama nominated Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system in Baltimore, in February (see 1602240054). Hayden would replace Deputy Librarian of Congress David Mao, who has been acting head since previous Librarian of Congress James Billington retired in September. Stakeholders have said Hayden is largely a blank slate on copyright issues but praised her experience with pushing for major library modernizations, given the Library of Congress’ IT issues (see 1603080063). The hearing is to begin at 2:15 p.m. in 301 Russell, Senate Rules said.

Additional intellectual property protections are needed -- including those involving "ancillary copyright laws," and patent and intermediary liability protections -- in certain countries, said Internet and communications trade groups during a public hearing Tuesday of the U.S. Trade Representative's Special 301 Subcommittee. The USTR each year identifies "countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property protection," and recently received written stakeholder comments on the issue (see 1602080061). The public hearing included testimony from representatives of four countries -- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt and the Ukraine -- detailing their governments' recent efforts to improve IP protections and arguing they should be excluded from the USTR's watch list this year.

The U.S. needs to "to take all actions necessary" to address a recent spike in the number of counterfeit footwear products, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as part of the agency's Special 301 Subcommittee hearing on March 1. The brands and products of the FDRA's member companies "support thousands of American jobs -- jobs that are put at risk by counterfeiting and piracy,” said the group's president Matthew Priest in a news release. “Seizures of counterfeit footwear increased by 356% during the latest three-year reporting period, and footwear went from being the twelfth most-seized product for IP violations in the world to the sixth -- a stunning increase over a three year period.” The USTR each year identifies "countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property protection," and recently received written stakeholder comments on the issue.

Additional intellectual property protections are needed -- including those involving "ancillary copyright laws," and patent and intermediary liability protections -- in certain countries, said Internet and communications trade groups during a public hearing Tuesday of the U.S. Trade Representative's Special 301 Subcommittee. The USTR each year identifies "countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property protection," and recently received written stakeholder comments on the issue (see 1602080061). The public hearing included testimony from representatives of four countries -- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt and the Ukraine -- detailing their governments' recent efforts to improve IP protections and arguing they should be excluded from the USTR's watch list this year.

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (here), signed into law Feb. 24, includes provisions on small business trade issues and trade promotion, enforcement of existing trade agreements and currency manipulation. The ITC will be required to establish a new “import monitoring tool” on its website, and CBP will have to develop a database of honey characteristics to counter false country of origin labeling. Currency manipulation provisions authorize some retaliation for exchange rate policies, including a stop to procurement from offending countries, but fall well short of more stringent provisions, including countervailing duties on manipulators, debated early in the legislative process (see 1504230001).