CBP, ICE Release Report on 2011 Counterfeit Seizures
Theft of American intellectual property is a serious crime, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced today that their vigorous, ongoing efforts to protect America from the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods during fiscal year 2011 resulted in 24,792 seizures, a 24 percent increase over 2010. Read the 2011 Seizure Report here or an abbreviated fact sheet here.

2012 Africa Intellectual Property Forum Announced          
The U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) and the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are pleased to announce the first-ever, continent-wide Africa Intellectual Property Forum: Intellectual Property, Regional Integration and Economic Growth in Africa. The three-day forum will bring more than 600 international government officials, African and international business representatives, IP organizations, IP artists, entrepreneurs, and industry stakeholders to Cape Town, South Africa April 3-5, 2012. For registration opportunities or to learn more visit the Forum website.

US-China Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot To Launch on December 1, 2011
Deputy Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Teresa Stanek Rea and China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) Deputy Commissioner Yang Tiejun, signed a Joint Statement of Intent on November 8, 2011, to launch two new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programs on December 1, 2011.These landmark patent worksharing initiatives represent a major achievement in the growing bilateral cooperation between the two patent offices. These pilot programs will apply to qualifying patent applications filed under both the Paris Convention (“Paris Route”) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

"This PPH agreement marks a shining success of the outstanding cooperation by both offices to build on synergies to improve the global patent system,” said Under Secretary Kappos. “The agreement comes at a very opportune time as China and the United States together make up a significant global market share for patent stakeholders. PPH will promote high quality patents and expedite processing of patent applications in both offices by avoiding duplicative work and will provide greater costs savings to patent applicants. It will help spur greater innovation and generate greater economic growth and job creation in both countries.” (Press Release)

Stakeholders Invited to Join Roundtable on Trademark Protection in China
On September 30, 2011, USPTO will host a roundtable discussion on trademark protection in China. Participants will include 15 senior officials from China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. The program will offer U.S. right holders and practitioners an opportunity to learn more about the trademark protection system in China. The program will include a discussion of common mistakes made by applicants and helpful tips for registering marks in China. There will also be an open Q&A session for attendees to ask questions of the panel. The roundtable will run from 9am to 12pm on September 30, 2011, at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia (Madison Building – click here for directions). To sign up, please click here.

The Colombia IPR Toolkit is Now Available
The U.S. Commercial Service office of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota has launched an online Intellectual Property Rights Toolkit for Colombia. This toolkit provides information on how to obtain and protect intellectual property in Colombia, which serves as a resource for businesses looking to protect their intellectual property. You can find the toolkit here.

U.S.-EU IPR Working Group to Meet with Stakeholders
The U.S.-EU IPR Working Group will be holding a meeting with stakeholders in Washington, DC, on July 14, 2011. The event will be held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 10:00 am -1:15 pm. Established in 2005, the U.S.-EU IPR Working Group coordinates transatlantic activities in three main areas under the U.S.-EU IPR Action Strategy: engagement on IPR issues in third countries, customs cooperation, and public-private partnerships. Anyone wishing to attend the event should register here.

IPEC Victoria Espinel Presents Keynote Speech at World Copyright Summit
On June 8, 2011, U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel spoke to an international audience of government officials and industry leaders at the World Copyright Summit, held in Brussels, Belgium.  Among other important messages, she stressed the need for cooperation among foreign governments and the private sector to stop criminals who attempt to evade intellectual property laws by operating overseas. You can view the speech here and read the transcript here. Details about Ms. Espinel’s other meetings during her recent trip to Europe are discussed in a White House blog entry, located here.

The Ghana IPR Toolkit is Now Available
The U.S. Foreign Commercial Service office of the U.S. Embassy in Accra has launched an online Intellectual Property Rights Toolkit, the first of its kind for sub-Saharan Africa. The toolkit aims to showcase Ghana’s investment climate, and will serve as an asset for Ghanaian efforts to attract foreign investment, and to foreign investors interested in doing business here. The toolkit is available here.

U.S. Department of Commerce and EC Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry Launch Transatlantic Intellectual Property Rights Resource Portal
The U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission’s Directorate General (DG) for Enterprise and Industry have developed the Transatlantic IPR Resource Portal to make it easier for transatlantic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find and use the resources that both governments have developed to protect and enforce intellectual property rights. The portal was developed by the Market Access and Compliance (MAC) unit of Commerce’s International Trade Administration in collaboration with DG Enterprise’s Competitiveness Policy unit. “This portal reflects the latest in a sustained effort by MAC to address the unique needs of U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises doing business overseas,” said Commerce Assistant Secretary for Market Access and Compliance Michael Camuñez. “SMEs can be disproportionately affected by the costs of overcoming barriers to trade, especially in a critical area like protecting their intellectual property.” Click here to visit the portal.

Our SME IPR Training Tutorial has been translated into French and Spanish!


Now available in three languages (English, French and Spanish), our online IPR training tutorial, Understanding Intellectual Property Rights, helps you to assess your intellectual property assets, protect them in the United States, and enforce them worldwide. Learn more by clicking on the links to the left!

APEC Intellectual Property Explorer is now available!
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has launched Intellectual Property Explorer, a free, secure, and simple online business tool to help SMEs identify and protect their IP assets. It contains a series of interactive diagnostic questions designed to review each piece of intellectual property in an SME's business. The tool was developed by the Governments of Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. A permanent link is available under “Independent Organizations” on the right-hand side of this page.

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