Capacity Building Efforts
In addition to identifying concerns, this Report also highlights opportunities for the U.S. Government to work closely with trading partners to address those concerns. The U.S. Government collaborates with various trading partners on IPR related training and capacity building around the world. Both domestically and abroad, bilaterally and in regional groupings, the U.S. Government remains engaged in building stronger, more streamlined, and more effective systems for the protection and enforcement of IPR.
For example, in the United States, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invites officials from around the world for training at its Global Intellectual Property Academy, which conducts over 75 programs per year, training more than 4,500 participants from over 120 trading partners. These programs focus on a variety of topics, including patent and trademark examination, copyright, industrial designs, IPR management, and technology transfer. Furthermore, over half of the USPTO programs are directed to IPR enforcement capacity building, on topics such as border enforcement, prosecution practices, and judicial development. Other U.S. Government agencies bring foreign government and private-sector representatives to the United States on study tours to meet with IPR professionals and to visit the institutions and businesses responsible for developing, protecting, and promoting IPR in the United States. One such program is the State Department's International Visitors Leadership Program, which brings groups from around the world to cities across the United States to learn more about IPR and related trade and business issues. In addition, U.S. Government agencies, such as the State Department and the U.S. Copyright Office, conduct well-attended conferences in Washington.
Overseas, the U.S. Government is also active in partnering to provide training, technical assistance, capacity building, exchange of best practices, and other collaborative activities to improve IPR protection and enforcement. These activities are conducted by a number of U.S. Government agencies. For example:
- The USPTO's Office of Policy and External Affairs provides capacity building in countries around the world and has developed agreements with more than 40 national, regional, and international IPR organizations, such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), and Interpol, to partner on IPR training activities. These partnerships help ensure that capacity building and training efforts are demand-driven and meet the particular needs of each organization and trading partner.
- The Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA) collaborates with the private sector to develop programs to heighten the awareness of the dangers of counterfeit products and of the economic value of IPR to national economies. Additionally, ITA develops and shares small business tools to help domestic and foreign businesses understand the basics of IPR.
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