White House pledges to enforce IP through trade rules
US President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration has used its latest strategic report on IP enforcement to hit out at China over counterfeits and alleged state-backed IP theft.
In the latest report from the U.S. I ntellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), Trump pledged US IP would be defended through “strong enforcement of our trade rules”.
Trump’s term was marked by an escalation in tensions with China, including allegations that Beijing engaged in state-sponsored theft of US and European IP.
Highlighting the administration’s actions on IP, the IPEC strategic plan said the 2018 US withdrawal from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was designed in part to address the “rapid growth in recent years of counterfeits being shipped from China to the US”.
The IPEC report also referenced Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization (WHO), citing China’s “outsized influence on the organization”.
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to halt the US withdrawal from the WHO when he takes office on January 20 next year.
IPEC is required under federal law to produce a strategic plan for the period 2020-2023. The report said the US would look to strengthen IP protection through trade agreements, including a post-Brexit free trade deal with the UK.
The US agreed a phase one trade deal with China earlier this year, requiring China to bolster domestic IP protections in areas including copyright and trade secrets.
The report identified other strategic priorities, including tackling the trafficking of counterfeit and pirate goods through e-commerce platforms, and improving cybersecurity.
WIPR yesterday, November 10, reported on what US IP policies might look like under Joe Biden.
Mark Whitaker, partner at Morrison & Foerster, said he expects an increased focus on IP and a “return to Obama-era activism on IP-related legislation and enforcement”.
“IP during the Trump era, both in the administration and within the judiciary committees of both chambers of Congress, was put on the back burner. This leaves an opportunity for the Biden administration to take up a number of legislative reforms,” Whitaker said.
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