21 Jun, 2008: 2008 USTR Special 301 Report Summary from IP Justice

31 May, 2008: Congress tries to get Israel off of US intellectual property blacklist (Jerusalem Post)
"The USTR said Israel is judged by different standards than others in its watch list tier which don't have as advanced economies. "Our expectations of those countries may not be as high as they are for Israel," said an official in the USTR, speaking on background. "We look at Israel relative to its very high level of development." ...

25 Apr, 2008: Uninvited to the Public Policy Forum Symposium (Howard Knopf)
"I have now been uninvited to the Public Policy Forum (“PPF”) IP program entitled INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REFORM: INNOVATION AND THE ECONOMY on April 28, 2008, which will now proceed without me on the program. It seems that strong pressure was brought to bear on PPF to have me removed from the program and that PPF capitulated. The presentation ...

25 Apr, 2008: USTR Press Release on 2008 Special 301 List
Report Highlights US Industry Desire for More Restrictive Intellectual Property Protection, Acknowledges Compliance by Some US Trading Partners....

25 Apr, 2008: 2008 USTR Special 301 Report (full report)
The “Special 301” Report is an annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement, conducted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) pursuant to Special 301 provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act). The 2008 Special 301 review process examined IPR protection and enforcement in 78 countries. ...

25 Apr, 2008: Canada Remains in Good Company in USTR Special 301 Report (Micheal Geist)
"The U.S. Trade Representative has released its annual Special 301 report, in which it criticizes dozens of countries over their intellectual property laws while ignoring its own shortcomings. Despite demands from the copyright lobby that Canada be placed on the "Priority Watch List," Canada is again on the lower level Watch List along with 35 other countries including Norway, ...

25 Apr, 2008: USTR’s 2008 Special Section 301 Report (William Paltry)
On Friday, April 25th, the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued its 2008 Special 301 report. Nine countries were placed on the naughtiest of the naughty list, the Priority Watch List: China, Russia, Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand, and Venezuela. Of these China gets the most extensive treatment. Thirty-six countries were placed on the naughty list, the ...

15 Mar, 2008: USTR - Special 301 Public Submissions 2008
Industry submissions to the USTR regarding its Special 301 list to recommend trade sanctions against foreign countries....

16 Feb, 2008: Comment on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to USTR
Deadline: 21 March 2008. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) seeks to negotiate an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement to strengthen international cooperation, enforcement practices, and participants' legal frameworks to address counterfeiting and piracy. USTR requests written comments from the public concerning specific matters that should be the focus of such an agreement.

13 Feb, 2008: No One Likes a Bully: the IIPA and Canada (William Patry)
"Despite the use of the word “International” in its name, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) is an umbrella group comprised of 7 U.S. trade associations: the Association of American Publishers, Business Software Alliance, Entertainment Software Association (video game industry), The Independent Film & Television Alliance, The Motion Picture Association of America, National Music Publishers’ Association, and Recording Industry Association ...

5 Feb, 2008: Public Comments Open on USTR Special 301 List
"The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has requested written submissions from the public "concerning foreign countries' acts, policies, and practices that are relevant to the decision as to whether particular trading partners should be identified" in its Special 301 List. The USTR's Special 301 Lists are used to impose trade sanction on foreign countries that do not adhere to ...

8 Nov, 2007: US Lawmakers Seek To Fuel International IP Enforcement Activities (IP-Watch)
Lawmakers in the United States concerned that global counterfeiting and piracy are hurting American business on Wednesday introduced two bills aimed at curbing the practices, and said they want more international cooperation to do so. Senators Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, and George Voinovich, a Republican from Ohio, introduced the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Act, which would establish an ...

30 Sep, 2007: IP Justice Summary Table of USTR Section 301 Reports 2001-2007
"Under “Special 301” enacted in 1988, USTR identifies countries that denied “adequate and effective protection” of US intellectual property or that denied “fair and equitable market access” to US intellectual property holders. Any “interested person” can file a petition asking USTR to launch Section 301 investigation and deny trade benefits to a country. Often, industry trade organizations such ...

14 Aug, 2007: US Escalates WTO Piracy Complaint Against China (IHT)
"The Bush administration has asked the World Trade Organization to rule in a complaint against China over the piracy of copyrighted movies, music, software and books, escalating a dispute that has roiled commercial relations. The U.S. Trade Representative's office took the formal step Monday of asking the WTO to decree that China's laws fall short of international agreements, after ...

13 Aug, 2007: US Elevates WTO IP Case Against China By Seeking Panel (IP-Watch)
"The United States has asked the World Trade Organization to take the next level a case it filed on China’s intellectual property rights protection after four months of consultations did not lead to the desired results, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said. The case on copyright and trademark protection was filed in April together with a case relating to ...