About the Author: Jose W. Fernandez serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.

Last week, the U.S. Department of State and non-profit industry group the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade (CREATe.org), partnered to host a roundtable discussion, “Safeguarding Intellectual Property and Preventing Corruption in Global Markets.” During the session, leaders from industry, government agencies, academia and non-governmental organizations discussed the increased penetration of counterfeit goods in the global supply chain, and the urgent need for collaborative public and private sector initiatives to improve supply chain integrity.

At the heart of the discussion was a central question: How can the business community, governments, and civil society generate new approaches to the immense challenges of protecting intellectual property… more »

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 19, 2012

As part of U.S. efforts to combat transnational crime and promote the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) worldwide, the U.S. Department of State has approved twelve projects totaling $2.6 million in Fiscal Year 2011 anticrime funds. These projects will enable U.S. law enforcement agencies and diplomatic missions to collaborate on the delivery of IPR protection criminal enforcement training and technical assistance programs for foreign law enforcement partners.

Training and technical assistance in the investigation and prosecution of IPR crime will be provided to foreign law enforcement partners in nations across the Pacific Rim, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs selected the projects after considering input from the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, other federal agencies, our overseas missions, Congress, and industry representatives.

The twelve projects are:

1) Africa - Western Regional Workshops $182,000 - Training for West African customs authorities on methods to identify and seize infringing goods.

2) Africa - Sub-Saharan Regional Workshops $525,920 - Workshops for Sub-Saharan African law enforcement partners focusing on border enforcement, following the money trail, organized crime involvement in trafficking of counterfeit medicines, and gathering electronic evidence.

3) Africa - East Central Regional Workshops $255,936 - Regional training for East African law enforcement authorities in combating counterfeit medicines which threaten human health and safety.

4) ASEAN $242,329 - A series of workshops for Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) member state judges and prosecutors focused on judicial and prosecutorial management of IPR cases, especially those that involve transnational organized crime.

5) Brazil $150,644 - Training seminars through the U.S. Embassy partnership with the Brazilian Government focusing on “notorious markets” identified in the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Out-Of-Cycle reviews.

6) Chile $100,000 - Training for Chilean judges on handling IPR crimes cases, including development of a judicial bench book and follow up monitoring by the U.S. Mission.

7) Colombia $70,000 - Training for the Colombia National Police on combating IPR crime.

8) South Asia Regional $210,185 - Joint workshops with Indian, People’s Republic of China, and ASEAN IPR enforcement officials to strengthen and build stronger cross-border partnerships.

9) Mexico $438,814 - Training for Mexican enforcement partners on following the money trail, digital evidence in online piracy cases, and border and customs enforcement.

10) Philippines $175,171 - Seminars for Philippine judges and prosecutors on courtroom and case management procedures in IPR cases.

11) Thailand $184,000 - Training for Thai judges, customs officials, and prosecutors to strengthen skills needed to carry out Thai IPR reforms.

12) Turkey $106,375 - Training for Turkish judges and law enforcement officials involved in new special IPR courts.

About the Author: Robert D. Hormats serves as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs.

Today, I published the following op-ed on The Huffington Post with Richard L. Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, and Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness.

Tuesday, April 26, was World Intellectual Property Day. The theme of this year’s celebration — Designing the Future — emphasized the critical role that ideas play in the development of solutions to the challenges of the 21st century, such as combating climate change, enhancing agricultural productivity, and finding cures for medical ailments.

From California’s Silicon Valley to Texas’ Clean Energy Incubator to the Biotech Beltway around Washington, D.C., the United States is the world leader in innovative products and services. The continued… more »