- The U.S. Department of State provides training funds each year to U.S. Government agencies that provide IPR enforcement training and technical assistance to foreign governments. The agencies which provide such training include the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the USPTO, and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2009, State Department funds supported 18 training events for over 1,500 Customs, police, and judicial officials from more than 21 developing countries, including Ukraine, Mexico, Russia, Vietnam, and Nigeria. The U.S. Government works collaboratively on many of these training programs with the private sector and with various international entities such as WIPO and regional organizations, like the APEC Intellectual Property Experts Group (IPEG).
- The Department of Commerce's Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) provides training to foreign lawmakers, regulators, judges, and educators seeking to improve the legal environment for doing business in their countries, including on IPR. CLDP currently works with more than 35 countries and has conducted cooperative programs in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. For example, in April 2009, CLDP organized the Second National Workshop on Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization in Manila, Philippines, jointly with the Philippines Intellectual Property Research and Training Institute (IPRTI).
These programs are often coordinated across many U.S. Government agencies.
Although many trading partners have implemented IPR legislation, the lack of criminal prosecutions and deterrent sentencing has left effective IPR enforcement to languish in many regions. Lack of knowledge regarding IPR law and policy on the part of judges and enforcement officials, and a lack of enforcement resources, are repeatedly cited as primary reasons for this growing concern. The United States welcomes steps by a number of trading partners to educate their judiciary and enforcement officials on IPR matters. The United States will continue to work collaboratively with trading partners to address these issues.
Trends in Counterfeiting and Piracy
Counterfeiting has evolved in recent years from a localized industry concentrated on copying high-end designer goods to a sophisticated global business involving the mass production and sale of a vast array of fake goods, including items such as counterfeit medicines, health care products, food and beverages, automobile and airplane parts, toothpaste, shampoos, razors, electronics, batteries, chemicals, and sporting goods.
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