The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced a “work plan” with Honduras to strengthen IP enforcement there. According to a USTR press release, Honduras will “substantially increase the number of prosecutors specializing in criminal IPR enforcement by…
The White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) has issued a request for comments to inform the drafting of the next Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. The notice “invites public input and participation in shaping…
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a request for comments for the 2016 National Trade Estimate (NTE) report on Foreign Trade Barriers. This is an annual report in which USTR seeks to identify “significant barriers to U.S.…
[Médecins Sans Frontières press release, Link] At the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference today, the international medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that middle-income countries (MICs), which will be home to 70% of people living with…
The 2015 Special 301 Report continues a trend, beginning last year, of scrubbing a lot of language that long graced previous reports threatening other countries about WTO TRIPS and other international treaty violations. (See Special 301, A Historical Primer). This could…
[Joint Letter from 12 American NGOs] We write as American organizations in advance of your trip to India this month to ask you to support India’s central role in providing high-quality, low-cost generic medicines—which are essential for health care around…
[Lawyers Collective, India] As you know, transnational pharmaceutical companies and the US Government are putting pressure on the Indian Government to change India’s IP laws especially the Indian Patents Act, which will make medicines unaffordable to millions of people in…
The Office of the US Trade Representative’s 2014 Special 301 Report is expected out shortly. The 301 Report places countries on a watch list for practices the US Government believes reflect “inadequate” intellectual property protection, even when these policies protect…
Resist the U.S. Administration Pressure and Reject the Misleading Allegations of U.S. Business Associations We the undersigned organizations and individuals are writing this letter to urge you to reject the pressure tactics of the United States (US) administration against India…
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently announced that it would not seek sanctions against Ukraine following its designation as a Priority Foreign Country in the Special 301 process last year. The notice states that the USTR sticks by its…
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently investigating “Indian industrial policies that discriminate against U.S. imports… and the effect those barriers have on the U.S. economy and U.S. jobs.” The investigation was requested by Sen. Hatch, Sen. Baucus, Rep.…
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation of Trade, Investment, and Industrial Policies in India: Effects on the U.S. Economy held its second and third hearing on Friday, February 14. This blog contains notes on the third hearing, which was…