Office of Intellectual Property Rights Helps to Stop Fakes

Under the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP) initiative, announced in October 2004, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has established several new services specifically for small and medium size enterprises to assist in protecting intellectual property rights. The DOC’s Office of IPR (OIPR), within the International Trade Administration, works with U.S. exporters and interagency colleagues, in the U.S. and through Embassies abroad, to develop strategies for successful resolution of IPR issues. Take a look at

• Website, www.StopFakes.gov, with information for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on IPR registration, border enforcement of IPR, criminal IPR enforcement, and protecting and enforcing IPR overseas. Along with an interactive questions/answers section, the site includes IPR Toolkits for China, Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan, developed in collaboration with the State Department. The toolkits provide detailed information on the IPR protection regime and resources of each country.

• The 1-866-999-HALT is a hotline answered by DOC IPR experts who provide businesses with information to lock down and enforce their IPR, both in individual countries and in multiple countries through international treaties.

Many small firms experience difficulty protecting their IPR abroad, particularly in China, as they are not aware of the steps necessary to obtain and enforce rights in foreign markets. These tools can help. If you’re interested in more information about OIPR outreach or DOC’s IPR resources, please call the Trade Compliance Center at (202) 482-1191.

To help American exporters overcome foreign trade barriers and to make certain trading partners play by the rules, the Trade Compliance Center TCC maintains the Department of Commerce's Trade Complaint Hotline (http://www.export.gov/tcc or phone 202-482-1191) where U.S. businesses can register complaints online or by phone. When a trade complaint is submitted, the TCC coordinates a team of government experts that works closely with the company involved and develops a compliance strategy to try to resolve the complaint.

Fall 2005