The Obama Administration is calling for increased protection of American intellectual property and improved coordination among law enforcement agencies responsible for enforcing IP laws, according to the 2013 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, released on June 20.
The report calls for increased pressure on foreign trading partners to do more to improve their intellectual property enforcement, encourages the private sector to do more online enforcement on a voluntary basis, and calls on Congress to continue improvement on the legislative front, according to a report from Home Media Magazine.
This move encourages companies to take voluntary steps to reduce the profit incentive from online infringement, “consistent with due process, free speech, privacy interests and competition law,” says Victoria Espinel, U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator.
The report also details progress made in the enforcement of intellectual property laws since the administration’s first Joint Strategic Plan was released in 2010: Seizures of infringing, counterfeit imports have increased 53 percent in the past three years, with illegal consumer electronics among the top categories of items seized.